"Nightmare"

Anything else?

I visited the A&E department after 2 days of throwing up uncontrollably and feeling worse than I'd ever felt before. After a self diagnosis of a kidney infection I phoned good hope and asked if I should come in. My parents dragged me (quite literally as I couldn't manage to stand up) I arrived at the hospital around 8pm on a Tuesday night. I was happy to see it was fairly empty and nobody else looked very 'critical' we checked in and waited. I was beginning to feel even worse and fainted twice once in the toilet and once in the middle of the waiting area. I asked if I could please be seen as I was worse than I had been. I was shivering being sick in tears and had gone whiter than a ghost. Another hour went by. I was then called into the do tor who took a urine sample from me and diagnosed me with a severe kidney infection and severe dehydration. I was actually delighted I'd been seen and diagnosed. But it wasn't over yet. We were then sent into another A&E department and to my horror the room was full of about 30 people all waiting to be seen and there was no chairs available. Another couple of hours went by. I then went to the desk and demanded why nobody had been seen yet. The nurse told me that they are always understaffed on a Monday! Why should there be less staff on a Monday?! Is it because it's less likely to be full of drunks! I continued to wait. A nurse then called me into a room and did some tests on me, to my delight I thought it was over then. She was lovely and I appreciate it wasn't her fault but she said that I would have to wait longer. I was very very distressed and I needed to sit or lie down. I was put into an office on a GP bed/seat and put on an emergency drip. Another hour went by and a nurse said she would have to wait for a bed and would be back in an hour. She never came back and i got up and to my horror saw a poor man sitting in the coridor with his arm practically hanging off. people were in beds just placed in the corridor all waiting. the nurse came back and gave me some painkilers and and injection. she said she'd be back again. she didnt so again i complained. eventually by 4-5am after over 8 hours I was taken to a hospital bed (not on a proper ward) which I can only described looked like an operating room with huge machinery all around me. To be quite honest I didn't care by this point and went straight to sleep. I was awoken by a specialist who told me that I needed a kidney scan and once id had a bit longer on the drip I could go home. As i had no belongings I wanted to ring my parents or somebody to bring me something. I rang the buzzer for over an hour and nobody came. I got up out of bed to the reception on the ward, fainted in the corridor and they looked at me as if I'd fallen over. They told me they'd have to keep me in another night as the scan was not available. I discharged myself and recovered at home. Never again! No Hope. Severely understaffed and severely overcrowded.