"My awful experience in the Walk In Centre"

I work here at the ESH and was today a patient.

I went abroad over the New Year. Once I had returned I got quite ill. I felt I was well enough to work and therefore returned to the department. However once I arrived my Manager and colleagues took one look at me and insisted that I go to the Walk In Centre as I had vomited before I came into work.

The lady at reception was nice and competent. However I have never met nursing staff as rude as I had experienced today... and I have been working here almost four years.

The first nurse I saw assessed me. She seemed very annoyed at me that I did not take precautions before leaving to avoid infectious diseases. I am aware it was irresponsible, but I believe her response was very unprofessional, as she continued to roll her eyes, huff and repeatedly say 'no offence but I would have checked'. She then went on to ask me what the symptoms for my suspected disease were... surely she should have known that? All I could tell her were the symptoms that I had, but apparently that meant nothing to her, as she then kept saying things like she 'didn't have a bloody clue', 'no idea' and asked me why I didn't check my symptoms on the internet...I have to ask are you kidding? I think if there is one thing everyone in this hospital knows its to never check your symptoms online, because lets face it, according to that, we all have Ebola!

I was then sent back to the waiting room where I was initially the first person to be in. I watched as everyone who came in after me got assessed, seen by doctors and then discharged all in the 3hrs I was waiting just to be seen. Then I got called by a lovely doctor who was very professional, very thorough and very understanding. He said I would need a blood test.

He went to one of the reception desks where there was another nurse. The doctor told her I would need a blood test and that I could go back to work and that someone could just call up with my results. The nurse, knowing full well I was sitting less than 5ft away proceeded to ask why I can here and not go to my GP instead. The Doctor himself seemed a little disturbed by her manner. She didn't say this just once, but quite a few times, constantly querying why I had gone to the Walk In Centre and why I didn't go to the GP. As if the Doctor would magically have an answer, to be honest after the shocking behaviour of the first nurse I wasn't that much more shocked by this nurses's behaviour, as much as I was by the way she spoke to the Doctor, who clearly was only trying to do his job.

I came back and told my Manager and colleagues about my experience, who were mortified and very angry at what had happened and demanded that I report it. What happened has made me realise why so many people have a problem with this hospital, I have always defended this place, as I had never before encountered such problems. But after today I have to say I was absolutely disgusted by the way I was treated and I am very upset about it.

If I had known that I would come across such horrible people I would have risked an infectious disease rather than go to the Walk in Centre.