"Disappointing, waste of time & lack of..."

What I liked

The Nurse who assessed me was very professional, friendly and happy to help.

Waiting time wasn't too bad, about 3 hrs in total.

What could be improved

The way patients are treated (detailed below)

Anything else?

I came to A&E as I had been suffering with a bad chest infection for a couple of weeks and had developed a terrible pain on my right side. I tried to access my GP but was told there were no appointments all week and Nenedoc said I needed to been at A&E to rule out anything sinister that was causing my pain.

About 30mins after I arrived I saw the Nurse who assessed me, she was very helpful & friendly. She explained it was likely to be muscular but that they would check my heart with an ECG & take blood just rule out a blood clot or pneumonia. After another 30 mins I was called in for these, which went fine. I was still in a lot of pain at this point. I was told it would now be up to 2 hrs to see the Doctor, which again was fine as I expected to wait in such a busy department.

My problem was that after waiting the 2hrs I was called in to see the Doctor who was the rudest person I have ever come accross, unfortunately I did not get her name! She walked in and said I had a strain and then demanded 'so why did you think it was necessary to come to A&E with a strain?' I tried to explain that Nenedoc had sent me but she spoke over me. Again she asked me a few more questions, such as had I seen my GP, and then proceeded to talk over me. I was made to feel I had wasted her time and was a nuisence to be honest. I am rarely ill and this was my first visit to A&E in over 10yrs, I received no help or advice on how to manage the pain. She told me I was fine and then I left.

I understand A&E is a busy department dealing with emergency cases but I was referred there by the Out of Hours service and I was (and still am!) in a lot of pain, which didn't seem to bother the doctor who saw me. The last thing I would ever do is waste their time. As we left my partner commented on how rude the Doctor was, so it wasn't just me!