"My poor experience of Bournemouth A&E - "

My story relates to an accident that I was involved in just over 2 years ago. Strange why I write about it only now, but I've been prompted by my Father's poor experience today at Bournemouth A&E.

I was involved in a crash on my bike where I was brought in by ambulance. I was basically left in a cubicle for approx 3 hours before I was seen. When I eventually saw the Doctor and explained what happened, they said that they needed to check whether I'd punctured my lung or ruptured my spleen.

I assured the Doctor that this was not the case, because if it were in my view I'd have been dead long before she saw me. I don't normally moan, but the nurses in my experience there lacked compassion and because I sat and didn't say anything it was OK to just leave me there.

The real corker was when a patient handcuffed to two police officers jumped the queue and walked past to be seen. This makes me think that there wasn't a prioritization based on severity of injuries. In the background I could hear (not see) an old lady who was in considerable pain moaning loudly with nobody attending to her as far as I could tell.

I had also split my head and had to point this out as they'd not examined me properly. The wounds were eventually cleaned at my request. When I was given the all clear probably 6 hours later (approx 2 in the morning) they told me I could leave and that they would order a taxi for me. Slight problem, I didn't have any money and I couldn't walk. I had to insist on waiting until the morning.

I read that the NHS are understaffed and I know that there are good people who take a pride in what they do. Nursing surely has to be a vocation, not just a job. On that day I didn't see a lot of that.

I know the treatment in Poole A&E is a lot of different and I've seen a more professional approach in the past with members of my family that have been treated.