Care Opinion

Text size

Theme

Language

Videos in BSL or ISL
Help with language translation
Help with reading or listening

Poor experience in A&E

Posted By kiloqq45

"Poor experience in A&E"

About: Altnagelvin Area Hospital / Emergency department

(as a relative),

The GP told my mum that she needed an urgent MRI scan to rule out a serious condition that would need immediate treatment. In order to have an urgent MRI my mum had to attend A&E as the GP couldn't request it.

My mum attended A&E and sat there for 7 hours, to be told to go home and wait for a phone call for the scan appointment. She was called for the scan the next day. Following the scan she was told to go back to A&E and wait for someone to look at the result. She had to report to A&E reception, be seen at triage and waited in the waiting room for another 4 hours before she received a phone call to give her the scan result. 

The doctor on the phone call said they couldn’t find her in A&E and thought she had gone home. They also called her by the wrong name on the phone. My mum is in her seventies, in a wheelchair, has numerous serious health conditions and had not left A&E for the whole 4 hours. 

A and E was extremely busy, noisy and very warm. There was a full vomit bowl sitting on the floor for the whole time she was there and it was walked past by numerous staff, including nurses and two support services supervisors. 

It was extremely difficult to hear a name being called from the treatment area and no opportunity to get clarity as when you got to the door it was swipe access only and the person had gone. 

I am saddened at the lack of care and compassion shown to my mum during this episode. I find it difficult to understand the system in place that one can only get an urgent scan if you sit in A&E for 7 hours to get it booked and then go home to come back, and then to get the result have to sit in A&E again. Why did my mum have to wait 4 hours in A&E to receive a phone call  with the results? Why could the scan not have been booked when the GP requested it and my mum wait at home?

More about:
Do you have a similar story to tell? Tell your story & make a difference ››

Responses

Response from Karima Gray, Band 7 Senior Sister Emergency Department Altnagelvin Hospital, Acute Services Altnagelvin, WHSCT nearly 2 years ago
Karima Gray
Band 7 Senior Sister Emergency Department Altnagelvin Hospital, Acute Services Altnagelvin,
WHSCT

Submitted on 13/07/2023 at 13:16
Published on Care Opinion at 14:46

Dear Kiloqq45,

Firstly I would like to apologize for the journey your mother had during her recent attendance to the Emergency Department, and I would like to thank you for taking the time to highlight the issues which need addressed. Apologies, as I am aware this happened some weeks ago.

I would like to apologize for the length of time your mother had to initially wait before being discharged home to await her MRI scan. Unfortunately the increase in our numbers of attendances is something which is out of our control and therefore peoples waiting times are becoming a lot lengthier than which we would like.

Unfortunately, your mothers GP was unable to request an MRI scan, and therefore the option at this time was for your mother to present to the Emergency Department where her scan could be processed. Once an MRI scan is completed, a radiologist must look at this scan and provide an official report before a diagnosis can be made. Outpatient MRIs can sometimes take weeks for an appointment to become available.

On each attendance that an individual presents to the department, they must go through our triage system. This is so clinical need can be assessed at that time and we are aware that a person has presented and what the presenting complaint is, so as to ensure that the appropriate treatment plan is provided.

I apologize for the overcrowding in the waiting room and we are aware that the area is quite small in comparison of the numbers of attendances that we have. In regard to the cleanliness of the waiting room, this is a recent issue which we are monitoring and reviewing on a daily basis. We have experienced a reduction in the hours of cleaning staff and this has been escalated to senior management through the appropriate channels, and this is something which we are taking very seriously.

Your experience you describe in regard to the lack of care and understanding is upsetting for us to read and we would like to assure you that our nursing team work extremely hard to provide the highest standard of care that we can. I am very sorry to hear that you feel this was not the case for your mother. There is always a Senior member of the Nursing team on shift and any issues which arise on any presentation can be escalated to them and we can try and address the issues as they arise to try and make a patients journey as comfortable as possible.

I will ensure that your story is shared with our team for feedback and so that we can learn from your experience.

I hope that your mother is recovering well following her attendance, and if you would like to discuss anything further, I am happy that you contact me and we can provide you with any more clarity.

Thank you for your time and patience,

Karima Gray

Senior Sister

Emergency Department

Altnagelvin Hospital

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful
Opinions
Next Response j
Previous Response k