"Would give A&E a miss"

Visited A&E having seen two Opticians under the ACES scheme in recent days as I had experienced a sudden onset of floaters and pain in one eye. I was advised to go to A&E if I continued to be concerned or eperienced any changes. Went armed with copies of the paperwork plus a USB memory stick loaded with the images from the optician only to be advised that despite knowing the problem and aware that time is of the essence in the event of the potential for a detached retina, having explained the situation and that I had the information from the optician on me, I would still need to be triaged by a nurse before being able to see a doctor and that the waiting time was approximately 1.5 hours. It seems pointless having to first see a nurse when we are aware of the problem and that it needs to be assessed by an Opthalmic Consultant rather urgently. I wouldn't want to have any cardiac issues that would result in such a delay.

Do the reception team have no triage experience or abilities? Went home without seeing anyone, if I have to wait 1-2+ hours for a nurse to determine what I already know could be an urgent situation then another night will have to suffice then hopefully I might be able to get my GP or Optician to organise an appointment direct with the correct department! waste of time, money (car park fees) and fuel