"The responsibility to communicate with patients"

Following an injury at home (Outer Hebrides) I was sent to QEUH with a letter for trauma/ortho via ED.(to save the triage process) so travelled by sea (5.5hrs) and road (2.5hrs) Arrived at 4pm checked in triaged within 1 hour, waited for further 4 hrs in a waiting room.. hungry(fasted as requested) sore, (no analgesic offered) and exhausted. Not once did anyone communicate with me. I asked at 8pm where I was in queue, was told, next with the disclaimer of no guarantee of when that would be. At 9 pm I asked again and was told ‘Ortho in Resus..Do I need to say anything else?’ I said no and sat down again.  Within earshot the same nurse said that folks think nurses have got nothing else to do but see where they are in the queue and chase doctors . Whether it was aimed at me or not doesn’t matter. I was mortified. 

I have spent almost 40 years on the NHS ( including ED) and I know what it’s like. I also know that it is actually a nurses responsibility to communicate with patients. Whether it’s what you want to hear or not... it’s essential. And I also happen to think it’s a nurses responsibility  to ‘chase up’ doctors. But I call it prioritising. I am not for one minute suggesting that I should have been prioritised. I understand fully that there were people much sicker than me  to be seen. But, please listen to what I have to say! Talk to people, don’t avoid eye contact, be truthful. We( patients) would much rather hear that the wait has increased or the Department has been stretched. Oh and if you’re going to be sarcastic or talk about people... make sure no one can hear you... Some of us are really there because we need to be. My assessment at 10 o clock that night..(6 hrs after admission)resulted in a 5 day stay in hospital, so I guess I really did need to be there.