"Nightmare visit to A/E with no resolution"

I was referred to A&E RLH, by my GP I went at 8.30 pm the waiting room was full.

I waited 5 mins to book in, no seats, then told to sit down and wait, this room was for both Urgent Care and A/E very sparse, no notices on walls some lefts in racks, TV worked, no water machine, vending machine that only took coins but most people trying to use it needed a tap card route, so did not get anything.

At 9.15 seen by triage nurse 15 mins and taken to second waiting area inside A/E waited until 10.30 to see Doctor, waiting room was sparse, old notices not taken down, about 7 patients and 5 relatives in this area. Left hospital at 11.00 pm due to the fact that I was told they would have to get an on call MRI radiographer called in and warm up the machine, this would take maybe 3 hours, I said that I was prepared to return the following day but not to spend all night waiting. They said that if I did that I would have to start the process again, so I left.

Point of note? the GP had given me a letter but no one read it, so what was the point? why did I need triage when it was a referral? Why was there not a duty radiographer? I think this is a regional stroke centre so I would think that this system was very slow and clumsy, if there is to be integrated care why was there no procedure for me to return the next day and rerun the process? what the point of wasting time visiting the GP to get a diagnosis when its not acted upon at the hospital?

NO refreshment or information given out during the visit, I was now at home, so rang the GP Administrator who said will look into it, I rang them 3 days later and they said ring the MRI department direct which I did. They could not sort it out as I was not on the system, so I rang back in 3 days, they said I was there but a hold was placed on it, so they would ring back, they didn't.  I rang and they said that it had now been established that I need an MRI, and offered Newham, when I said that was difficult to travel to, they offered SBH at 6,30pm on a Friday evening.

I attended Barts hospital 2 weeks later and I am still waiting the results.

Update 2 weeks later I rang the GP, and they replied 2 days later and said that not much could be seen on the MRI, so I need further investigation at consultant level in orthopaedics which there was an 18 weeks wait.

So what was a clinical emergency on the night of the A/E visit turned into a nightmare with no resolution 6 months down the line.