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Care Opinion

Bad Experience at A&E Poole Hospital

Story from nhs.uk

"Bad Experience at A&E Poole Hospital"

About: Poole Hospital

I am writing to express my disappointment and frustration with the service I received at A&E Poole Hospital last night.I arrived at the A&E department with my father before 10 pm, following advice from NHS 111. I was experiencing urgent female health issues and was instructed to seek immediate medical attention. However, upon arrival, the receptionist informed me that there was no record of my referral.Subsequently, I waited in discomfort and anxiety until 2 am the next morning without being seen by a doctor. When my father approached the receptionist to inquire about the wait time, we were informed that there were still several people ahead of me. Considering I had already been waiting for 4.5 hours, this was unacceptable for an urgent medical issue.Feeling humiliated and ashamed, I made the difficult decision to leave the A&E department. I could not bear to wait any longer, especially if my condition was not considered urgent enough to be seen promptly. This experience has shattered my faith in the healthcare system and tarnished my previously positive opinion of Poole Hospital.

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Responses

Response from Patient Engagement Liaison, University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust 2 weeks ago
University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust

Submitted on 29/04/2024 at 18:32
Published on Care Opinion at 18:32

Dear Miriam,

I am very sorry to hear about the experiences you had at Poole A&E. I can understand why you were disappointed. I am very sorry that you were waiting in discomfort. The triage nurses should have been able to monitor your pain and offer you analgesia if you required this. The waiting times are a source of great frustration and whilst I appreciate you were informed by 111 to attend urgently, patients are seen in a clinical priority order rather than a time order. It must have been that there were very poorly patients being seen as a priority for you to have been asked to wait. I am sorry that you felt impelled to leave and that it wasn't communicated to you how important it was that you see a clinician. I do hope that you have received medical attention now?

I have spoken to the Urgent Care Centre Lead about the communication received from 111 and how they can improve this to align patients expectations. There may have been a problem with the referral process or the communication channels in your particular case. If you would like me to investigate this further then please email patientexperienceteam@uhd.nhs.uk with your patient details.

Please accept my apologies on behalf of the Department for your experiences.

With Best Wishes

The Patient Experience Team

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