"directed to A&E even though my friend was not there"

I went to see a patient at Stoke Mandeville hospital, but was unsure which ward she was in. I asked at the Information Desk if they could tell me, and I was directed to the A&E desk. I said I knew the patient had been in hospital for a number of days and was certainly not in A&E; they said to ask at the desk anyway. I went to A&E and I spent about five minutes there with the receptionist. She was most kind and helpful. However, I feel it was a bad use of the A&E service to have to give information for non-A&E patients.