"I feel Wakefield Hospital A&E badly failed me"

One evening whilst on my way to work, my car was hit by a lorry and shunted down the road. Although I did not receive any visible injuries I only have praise for the off duty fireman who stopped to help, as well as an off duty nurse and the paramedics. All were wonderful at trying to keep me calm and examine my neck for any sign of a fracture.

Ultimately it was decided I did not have any serious injury to my neck and I was helped out of my car and into a waiting ambulance and then taken to A&E. Once we arrived at Wakefield hospital A&E my level of care plummeted.

The paramedics firstly took me through into the acute section, but were then told by nursing staff to sit me in a chair and put me in the waiting room. At this point I had not received any pain relief at all.

Then a police officer wanted to take a statement from me and so my husband informed reception staff that, should my name be called, we were in an adjoining security office. After I had given a statement I was wheeled back out in to the waiting room (which was very busy) and left there. Luckily my husband had joined me at the site of the accident and followed the ambulance, although he was unimpressed at having to pay a parking fee.

We continued to sit there for over 2 hours waiting to be called, my pain gradually increasing all the time. At one point a nurse asked if they could take the wheelchair away for somebody else, a firm no was our response. Eventually I persuaded my husband to go and find out what was happening as my pain was becoming unbearable. After enquiries it transpired that they had called my name whilst I was giving a statement and had not been informed where I was so had presumed I had left. In total I spent over 4 hours in A&E and did not receive any care at all until I was eventually seen by a junior doctor. Being a nurse myself I had to tell her what medication to give me for severe whiplash!

Having worked as a nurse in A&E at a different hospital I was shocked at how badly the department was being run and will never go there again. In the ambulance I shall ask them to take me elsewhere, I found this department appalling.