"Awful"

Attended a&e on 26/7/16 after my gp told me to go for a self harm wound that needed stitching. I was seen by triage within 15mins and I was taken 2 a smaller waiting area because there were no cubicles available and told to wait until a cubicle was free. I sat there for 4 hours! The nurse that had triaged me came through and couldn't believe I was still sitting there without any treatment. In this time everybody who had come in after me had been and gone, i had seen my notes being put at the bottom of the pile twice and when i had asked how long it would be i was being told that everyone was being seen before me. I finally got taken to a cubicle by a doctor who asked if i would like to see psych team, I said I didn't mind as long as I wasn't waiting long.

I then had to wait yet again and the psych team came and asked if i wanted to see them, this time I said no as I had been there hours and my stomach still hadn't been stitched. So I waited for someone to stitch me. Nurses were coming past an didn't know who I was,

I was told that I would have to wait as they were stitching someone else who had been there an hour, they didn't seem to realise I had been there for over 5hrs. I was discharged at one point and then as I was leaving I was told I have a large wound and I have to wait for stitches. Eventually a nurse came in who had decided that instead of stitching they would staple the wound, it took about 15mins and i was discharged. The wound wasn't cleaned properly considering it had nearly been 12hrs since done and infection was a big possibility. I have been to this hospital many times for self harm and it makes me very sad that people who self harm are still being discriminated against and being treated differently to other people who ask for help. It is not the first time something like this has happened, I know it won't be the last at macclesfield hospital. I think your doctors/nurses need more training about self harm, they treat people's symptoms who have physical problems. Self harm is a physical symptom as well, part of an illness. So why can they treat people who self harm worse. It's bad enough going to a&e, if treated badly then you end up going home feeling even worse. It is very upsetting.