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About: Pilgrim Hospital

After suddenly coughing up blood for a second time in 2 weeks I was urged to go to A & E (Sun night before a bh Mon). Upon approaching the desk the receptionist loudly and impatiently said 'is this something you would go to your doctor with?' to which I replied I already have been. It wasn't just me, one man approached and the receptionist said loudly "What do you want?" as if to a stray dog. God knows what he did wrong. After an hour a man arrived and I heard him say his partner had severe abdominal pain, she was doubled over in agony yet told to sit and wait. It was horrible watching her writhe about in agony because my fiancée had been in the same position a couple of years ago and was also dismissed by the receptionists. There was a lady who had been there with her fingers on her pulse since we arrived. I had heard her ask the man who was with her whether she could have some fresh air so they went outside. She was called whilst she was out there. The nurse said loudly to the receptionist in a very judgmental tone 'Probably having a fag'. This woman was very obviously ill so it made me angry that someone could be like that. After 2 hours waiting I saw what I can assume was a triage nurse but I was never told so who knows. In the triage room I could see watery blood spatters on the splashback of the sink which nauseated me. The rude woman was a bit politer in there and nicely said 'well the doctor will have a good look down your throat when a cubicle becomes free, don't worry, nobody will be put before you in the queue'. This was the first time someone in the healthcare profession seemed to care and see my problem with the seriousness required. I waited for a further half an hour and was called into a side room by a doctor. He asked what the problem was and I told him. He said how much blood and I said a couple of teaspoons although I never spat any of it out. He said two teaspoons full is half a mouthful and I hadn't had that much blood. I never said it was all in one go, it was over the course of 15 minutes but he wouldn't let me explain. Didn't look in my mouth or anything, he 'listened to' my chest with a stethoscope through a very think hoodie and said I was fine, he then managed to diagnose me with a throat infection without even examining me and when I asked how can it be if I am not in any pain he responded by telling me that eating processed food causes dementia in later years. I asked him what if it happens again to which he shrugged and said dismissively 'eh. what can we do?' He then left the room before I had chance to ask more important questions and never came back. The nurse came in with a tablet and said 'take that now' without telling me what it was. I asked if it afftected the pill she said all antibiotics do, you should always wear a condom, you can go now. Couldn't read the prescription and had to go home and google all antibiotics to see which looked most like it as had no information about what had been given. Grim.

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Responses

Response from Sharon Kidd, Patient Experience Manager, Patient Experience, United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust 9 years ago
Sharon Kidd
Patient Experience Manager, Patient Experience,
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust
Submitted on 03/06/2014 at 21:07
Published on Care Opinion on 04/06/2014 at 09:54


picture of Sharon Kidd

Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback on your experience of the emergency department. We welcome all feedback and would like to assure you that all comments are taken seriously and acted upon as part of our ongoing commitment to improving patient experience. We are very concerned to hear about your experience, your feedback has been shared with the senior management team responsible for this service. If you would like to contact a member of the senior management team to discuss the described issues we would be more than happy to facilitate this. The contact number to use is 01205 445361, please ask to speak to either Michael Brunton (Matron for Emergency Care) or Helen Callaghan (Nurse Consultant Emergency Care) and we will ensure that the issues raised are acted upon.

We hope that this will address your concerns satisfactorily, however if you have any outstanding concerns please make contact via our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) team who will also be pleased to assist you. The PALS service can be contacted by phone 01205 446243 (08:00 – 16:00), in person by dropping in between 08:00 – 16:00 (Mon-Fri) to the PALS office located to the left of the Information Desk in the main entrance of the Pilgrim Hospital. If it is preferable, you can also contact the PALS service via the following email address PALS@ulh.nhs.uk

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