"A&E"

Myself and the patient were admitted via ambulance so didn't have to start our journey through the waiting area which really should be called a "Holding pen", the glass screened off area where patients have to explain why they have attended affords no dignity or level of confidentiality.

We were initially in a corridor but then moved to a waiting area , following this to the cubicle area.

Once in the cubical area the first overwhelming impression was the noise levels which were both intolerable and on the whole unnecessary , staff shouting to each other from the desk area into the cubical area, trolleys which are in obvious need of oiling and a tannoy system .

The noise levels were so high that the patient couldn't hear the medical staff who were treating him and the medical staff had to keep asking the patient to repeat himself. Much of this noise could be curbed by minor alterations to behavior and maintenance of equipment.

Nursing staff were polite , efficient and obviously run of their feet .

The first Doctor, no name badge visible, was efficient and conducted a detailed examination although needs to appreciate that when talking to a patient with autism you need to give extra time for them to process the question.

The second Doctor, didn't introduce themselves, I assume was a more senior clinician was abrupt , asked all the same questions as the first one and conducted yet another physical examination which caused pain and again failed to take into account the patients autism.

I appreciate this is a busy unit and on the whole a 7 hour visit wasn't as long as it could have been considering the amount of patients being seen.However the main clinical area is more like a field hospital and certainly not somewhere you would want to be if you were ill !