"A shocking lack of respect from the A&E..."

I attended the hospital as I had twisted my ankle and was having trouble walking or going about my day without pain in my knee and in the front part of my leg.

I explained my symptoms and the situation to the receptionist asking what the wait time was. I was told it was 2 hours. I thought this was fine and saw the triage nurse who sent me for an x-ray.

The x-ray department staff were lovely and incredibly professional but I cannot say the same for the receptionist and triage nurse.

They were incredibly rude and showed no respect whatsoever for me as a service user. After waiting for an hour and half, I asked again how long the wait was to be told it was another 2 hours. when i explained that I had been waiting for 1 hr 30 minutes, i was told flippantly that the wait time that morning was 7 hours so I could wait or discharge myself.

When I decided to discharge myself as I needed to go back to the office, I was told that I came to waste NHS resources and I was abusing the service. This was in public view of everyone in the reception area. I didn't know that a possibly broken ankle and knee constituted a "waste of NHS resources".

I calmly apologized and reiterated that I would like to discharge myself. the receptionist then said "I can't stop you but bear in mind that if you came back, it would be you waiting the NHS' time by using the emergency department for this as you are well enough to discharge yourself at this time".

Again, i remained polite and asked to discharge myself. As I turned to leave, I heard the triage nurse ask her if I chose to discharge myself. I assume she nodded and he must have made a face which led to her responding "I now".

I honestly cannot explain how disrespected I felt that day and have decided to use another urgent care center.

The NHS is under a lot of burden and strain - Yes! but it is not a reason to be so blatantly rude, unprofessional and discourteous. I work for the NHS and really hope patients aren't subject to the kind of behavior I experienced that day.