"Disheartened"

I am approximately 9 weeks pregnant & Friday, on the advice of the EPAU & my own GP, attended A&E after bleeding steadily throughout the day. Time of arrival was 17.30.

Reception staff were courteous, & assured me I would be seen shortly.

After three hours of sitting in the waiting room, I was called through to an assessment nurse, who did a urine dipstick & a routine set of observations.

Dipstick clear & observations stable, they advised I was best to see a doctor to be on the safe side, & sent me to wait in another waiting room.

21.04 I arrived in another waiting room, formerly the out of hours doctor, however I was informed that the day before had been taken over by people that "don't know what they're doing."

I was informed that there were three practitioners on duty, & there were 12 people ahead of me.

We witnessed staff wonder aimlessly, gossip amongst themselves, preparing themselves hot drinks & snacks, & go on breaks. Patients were complaining of long waits & asking why, when they'd seen previous patients leave, no one else had been called through. Some patients got very upset, & many gave up & went home.

Receptionists, nurses, & doctors continued to walk around chatting & laughing, & patients were called through at a rate of approximately one per hour.

Staff would call names of patients that had gone home, return to their rooms & not return for an hour.

I watched as other patients arrived after, & were seen before me, with ailments that they themselves said were "cuts & sprains."

I witnessed a young mother with a baby that was of worsening condition, struggling to breathe, turning blue at the lips & fingers, with an increasing distressed mother continuously told that there were numerous patients ahead of them, & they would be seen shortly.

Patients & relatives all compared waiting times, treatment & what appeared to be severe understaffing, when the two receptionists sat in the waiting area & said they'd been taken over by a company that were "clueless" and that it was "all about money."

At 02.00 when I was finally called through, the waiting room applauded that I was finally been seen.

The nurse began my consultation with routine questions, when another nurse entered the room & asked who they should call through next. It was then that my partner & I insisted that the baby was called through next, the nurse hesitated & went to get the baby.

Our nurse bleeped the on call doctor, & I was sent to the EPAU. On arrival there I was greeted by warm & empathic nurses & an understanding doctor who were all outraged that I had been left with a bleed, abdominal pain, on a hard chair without food, which had only increased my anxiety & stress, by now it was 03.00, & had been there for 9 & a half hours!!