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Care Opinion

I was left vomiting all over myself on a trolley for 4 hours

Posted By Waarheid

"I was left vomiting all over myself on a trolley for 4 hours"

About: Croydon University Hospital / Accident and emergency London Ambulance Service NHS Trust

(as the patient),

I became acutely ill one evening with severe vertigo and vomiting. Ambulance took half an hour to arrive. I was completely debilitated but the ambulance staff seemed hell bent on finding out my nationality (British! ) before they would offer any assistance.

Once they had established that I was not an illegal alien, I was taken to A&E. It felt like a Third World Country. I was left vomiting all over myself on a trolley for 4 hours, with the room spinning around me. A member of the public brought me something to vomit in.

The Staff I saw walked past me as if I was invisible. I got a diarrhoea attack, flagged someone down between vomiting and was told there was no one to take me to the toilet, so I should just soil myself.

Hours later, someone who appeared to be a doctor said "I'll be with you in a minute". I never saw that person again. Meanwhile the ambulance staff had taken down my diseases incorrectly. So a nurse came and gave me an injection of medication contra-indicated with at least 1 of my diseases. Hours later another doctor appeared and said "we don't know what's wrong. Go and see your GP."

I will never again allow myself to be taken to this hospital. I would have been better off at home, vomiting in the privacy of my own home instead of being stuck down there and then having to find my own way home at 1am. It seemed that there was no interest, no care, no reassurance, no compassion, no expertise, no skill.

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Responses

Response from Croydon Health Services NHS Trust 11 years ago
Croydon Health Services NHS Trust

Submitted on 15/03/2013 at 11:31
Published on Care Opinion at 12:04

Thank you for taking the time to share your comments and we are sorry for the delay in responding to you. The experience that you describe is quite clearly below the standard of care that we would expect to provide to our patients. Your comments have been passed to our A&E team who will look into the issues that you raise. We have also passed the details of your posting on to the London Ambulance Service.

We have been unable to identify you from the details that you have left on the Patient Opinion website, but if you wish to contact our PALS service to provide more information we will be look into your specific case in more depth. You can contact them on 020 8401 3210 or through email at talktous@croydonhealth.nhs.uk

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Update posted by Waarheid (the patient)

The hospital featured in the media not long after my experience, where it was described as one of the worst in the country. I intentionally made sure you were unable to identify me; I would never let such a hostile establishment identify me - who knows how it might affect future 'care' or how staff might use my personal data. My post was more to warn other taxpayers so that they can actively avoid the hospital - and not for your benefit as I do not believe the hospital is motivated to gain organisational learning.

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