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12 hours in A&E

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"12 hours in A&E"

About: Pilgrim Hospital

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My husband spent 12hrs in A&E dept on a trolley! both in a corridor and then a room. When he eventually got a bed and I settled him in he was then moved to another ward 3hrs later @ 12.30hrs (night). Very tired and feeling weak by morning. Do patients need their rest when ill? How would staff feel if their loved ones were treated in this way? Its about time that assessments were carried out in A&E (like the old days) and patients could then go to an appropriate ward instead of being shipped off to a so called Assessment Ward before being admitted to the ward they should be on! Whos idea is it!! some paper pusher who only sees patients as statistics! moving patients around the hospital so their numbers add up.

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Responses

Response from Jennie Negus, Head of Patient Experience, United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust 10 years ago
Jennie Negus
Head of Patient Experience,
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust

Submitted on 26/09/2013 at 15:57
Published on Care Opinion at 20:07

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I am so sorry that you had such a difficult (and worrying) time with your husband’s care. Sometimes it is best to keep people in A&E for longer periods if they need high level of care or intervention - but if this was the case for your husband then this should have been discussed with you. Your anger is palpable and I can understand why; moving patients around in the middle of the night is not what we expect and I am so sorry that this happened. Without some more details it will be difficult for me to explain any reasons or decisions - if you would like me to look into this further then please do not hesitate to contact me directly at: jennie.negus@ulh.nhs.uk and I will do so. In relation to assessment units I can see where you are coming from but please be assured that these have not been developed as a means to manage statistics - an assessment unit does essentially what it says on the door - it is set up to allow tests and examinations to take place, to assess the urgent needs and then to ensure the right care is given in the most appropriate place and in many case some care is given on the admissions unit and then patients can go home rather than being admitted to the main hospital wards.

Again please accept our apologies - your clearly had a very poor experience and your feedback is important to us to continue to do all we can to ensure this is not experienced again.

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