"Waiting time in A&E unacceptable, treatment was..."

What I liked

Treatment in A & E was excellent once I saw a doctor. Morphine administered, tests and x rays done quickly and admitted to a ward.

What could be improved

Cubicle for triage assessment had another persons blood on the floor. I was given painkillers and told to return to the waiting room where the wait would be 4 hours.

I was in agony and the wait was the worst time I have ever spent.

A prisoner was brought in after me by two policemen and he was seen before me even though he only seemed to have injured his foot which caused him to limp.

When I finally got to a bed in A & E I still had to wait before I saw a doctor.

(I was told how busy the department was due to ambulances arriving. The waiting room for drop in patients was very quiet when I arrived in the early hours of the morning. I was also told when I got to a bed in A & E that once more staff came on duty at 7.00am I should be seen quickly. This suggests that not enough staff were on duty through the night to react to the workload)

Anything else?

I had a stay of 12 days in hospital which indicated how ill I was and find it hard to believe that triage didn't recognise this fact with the symptoms I presented.