"Four and a half wait in A&E before giving up and..."

What could be improved

My father recently visited the A&E one evening, and after four and a half hours of not being seen he left. He had to sit whilst everyone else went in before him, and then when those who had arrived after him also went in. He had to sit and watch the doctor on duty that night flick through the pile of papers on patients (presumably picking the cases they thought we easiest or quickest) each time, never being selected.

My father is a carer for my mother - the length of his absence caused great stress to both of us as we did not know how serious his condition was (I had had to stay with my mother as she cannot be left alone, so I could not accompany him). To have him come home very late on, and not even having seen a doctor, is totally unacceptable - especially as he had to drive himself back (what would have happened if his case had been very serious and he had passed out whilst driving?).

Previous to this all our dealings with this hospital had been satisfactory if not very positive, so this was quite a surprise. The complete lack of consideration from the doctor - picking and choosing cases and ignoring wait times - is appalling.