"Recent A and E visit"

I had to visit this department recently after a bad fall. Reception staff were excellent and gave me an idea of waiting times. The department was midst being upgraded so conditions were cramped. The large tv on the wall was not working and there were no magazines available in the main waiting area, even though waiting on times were over 3 hours. Posters on walls were totally unreadable from the seating areas. There was no visible clues on waiting times, the triage nurse had to walk to reception to call patients, in an ideal world ( hope this will be in place in the new department) there would be a call system as in GP practices that would save on time.

After seeing the triage nurse I was sent around to the fracture clinic, on getting to this department I did not know what to do, there were no staff available and no clear instructions on what to do. I took a seat and waited till a staff member appeared, all patients coming after me too had no idea what to do!

Eventually I was called in to see the. Nurse practitioner who was lovely, professional and caring. But organisanisation seemed not to be particularly smart. She left me to go and find a gown for me to put on, taking 15 minutes ( why are there not gowns in each room one wonders?) then left me to change into the gown another 15 minutes gone, although I was changed in 2 minutes, we opened the door to catch her but she had gone. The team here seemed to consist of 3 nurse practitioners and a few Drs in and out, perhaps they need the help of a healthcare assistant and or reception staff?

Why in this day and age are staff still using paper records and then having to complete computer records? There was a computer in the patient room I was in but the nurse seemed to access the computer in a central office? Then once there they were distracted by Drs and other staff. For a patient it is very frustrating that work does not seem to be smart and seamless and I completely get why people get angry with the system. I was in the department for 3.5 hrs and could see that this time could be easily reduced by smarter working. The staff I was in contact with were all lovely but working practices need support staff and changes.