"4 Hours in A and E with an 18 Month Old with..."

My 18 month old hit is head around 7pm yesterday. After this he was sick three times, which for me was a massive cause for concern. I called 111 to ask for their advice and they said to take him straight to a and e.

On arrival to the hospital, I ended up standing in the queue for the reception desk. I wasn't allowed for my son and his head injury to go before the adults and i was in this queue for around 20 mins. On arrival to the front of the queue I was spoken to by a lady who booked us in with a piece of paper stating my sons injury and was classed as 'Major.' I was shocked when I was then told to stand in another queue and take the piece of paper to the actual desk to get booked in. Not sure what the point was?

I was booked in at 20:19. I was told to go sit in the children's waiting from, as it was quieter. It was a hot dirty room and no one was there. This led us to be forgotten about and my son wasn't even checked for obs until 21:30 when I went to complain that he had not even seen anyone!

Once his obs were finally checked, I was told the lady would come back a couple of times and would keep a close eye on him. Safe to say she didn't check on him once!

Over 4 hours in total I waited for my 18 month old little boy who hand a 'head injury' and 'vomited 3 times' before he was seen by the a & e doctor. We were seen around 00:45.

The A&E doctor was great, cannot fault her. My issue is the whole waiting system and the fact children clearly aren't segregated from the adults. There must be some kind of logic to it but in my opinion i think it was disgusting. It was pointless speaking to 111, the obs were not carried out properly and to leave a baby who has banged his head and vomited for that amount of time is outrageous. I understand the hospitals are busy and very thankful for the NHS but utterly disappointed in yesterdays visit. Thankfully, my son is absolutely fine and if he hadn't of vomited we wouldn't of attended the hospital.