"A&E"

Arrived at A&E accompanying a patient with emergency stomach pains. We were told to sit down and wait. After approx 2 hrs the patent was called to a doctor who directed us to pathology to have bloods taken, we were then told to wait (still in extreme pain) for 2 hrs for the results to come through and a surgical doctor to arrive, in the meantime the patient was offered no pain relief until we repeatedly asked for it.

Another 2 hrs later the surgical doctor arrived an told us that the previous doctor should have not sent us to pathology as we were an emergency. If you ask all patients to attend in the same room how are doctors supposed to know whos an emergency and who is not??! The doctor subsequently admitted that the bloods results were "lost" and stated that the patients condition was not an emergency even though the patient was almost on the floor from the pain. Abhorrent. 8 and half hours after the initial contact with A&E they "magically" found the blood test results and provided the patient with a bed pending further scans. Whist there for so many hours I hear other stories of poor service, a lady next to us was telling us she was there over 8 hours just to get some tests results! Is this what we are paying for? Appalling