"Our experience at Northwick park accident and..."

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We too an very ill child to Northwick Park Accident and Emergency following advice by a duty doctor. I believe the complete experience left my child feeling more ill. It was evening time, and the waiting room was full of frustrated and tired looking parents and poorly children. There were no staff in the waiting room area, and new patients had to press a buzzer to report in. There was vomit on the floor in one area of the room, where a child had been sick - not sure how long that was there for. Some of the people had been in the waiting room for well over 3 hours. We were seen by several different members of staff who each asked the same questions all over again, and in-between we were left waiting for 1 hour (then we saw 1st staff), then 2 hours (before we saw a doctor who took a sample), then another 3 hours (had a another doctor coming to see as the 2nd one had gone home after the end of her shift), and finally another one hour (another doctor saw us, asked all the same questions, and said we could go finally home!). This entire experience was so tiring for both my ill child, and myself. I wish I had never gone there in the first place. What is the need for this kind of procedure for dealing with a sick child - ie being seen by several different staff who ask the same questions and having to wait for so long in-between? Can they not assign a specific doctor to make all the assessments - or is it a system designed more as out of interest for staff to cover themselves and make sure that each member of staff only handle a particular delegated responsibility , and ensure that no matter what - they manage to get to fill out their part of the forms - rather than interests of the child?