"A & E went wrong after arrival at the hospital"

Anything else?

My Daughter (12 yrs old) locked her knee (known condition) yesterday as was screaming in agony.and it was necessary for the emergency services to be called. They explained over the phone exactly what I had to do. I needed to call them again and following a second call they attended and they were very professional, kept me informed at all times whilst the ambulance was on its way. On arrival they came in and were exceptional friendly, calming and professional and did everything 100 per cent by the book and even introduced a little humour to calm the situation. After getting her comfortable and unlocking the knee whilst giving her gas and air and pain killers they took her to Preston Royal Hospital.

She arrived and was triaged appropriately in a reasonable amount of time. They sent her to X Ray but they decided not to X Ray until advised by the Doctor. We were sent back to the adult waiting room where we were told to wait, expecting to wait 2- 3 hours, and this was at around 6.30pm. After my daughter complained about the knee being uncomfortable. I was told that when the Triage Nurse became available I could speak to her but found this was.

unnecessary. At no time during the wait in Adult waiting area was I told that we should be in the Childrens waiting room. After a shift change I then spoke to Reception and they said my daughter will be next. After a wait I was then told she was still on the list for being next subject to priorities. At around 11pm with other people coming in and being seen and my daughter complaining of tiredness I asked the Receptionist when she will be seen. The same Receptionist suddenly realized we were in the wrong waiting room and should be in Childrens waiting room. We then went to Childrens waiting room where there was one other person waiting with a child. The same Receptionist came and told me that my daughter had in fact been called a few times earlier in the childrens waiting room (whilst we were in the wrong room). No one thought to check in the adult waiting room. When I expressed frustration and asked if we can go home she checked with someone and then said we can go home and said “Oh Sorry” after I expressed my frustration. At no time was I impolite, I remained calm and made all comments in a reasonable manner. CCTV can confirm I never expressed any bad mood. I was unable to get a friend to take me home and my mother was unable to take me home – I had to get a taxi home which cost £17.50 and I am on Jobseekers allowance and cannot afford this.

Apart from the triage and being declined by X Ray dept my daughter was not seen by a medical professional. Her knee has recovered apart from a niggling issue and I am seeing her GP today to review.

I have had good service from the NHS over the years on our medical issues but this is the first time there has been a real hiccup.