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"Dreadful Reception area care"

About: Northern General Hospital

I have been red carded for cauda equina, an emergency spinal condition. I went to A&E because I had a UTI - urinary difficulties are a sign of cauda equina - severe back pain and sciatica in both legs. I waited for an hour on a chair. Sitting on a chair causes unbearable pain. The receptionists told me that the A&E department had nowhere i could lie down to wait to be seen, not even a trolley. I was prepared to wait but couldn't bear the increasing pain caused by sitting in a chair. So I went home - with a potentially catastrophic conditiion. Eventually I saw my GP but the casual cruelty of not being able to make patients with intolerable pain comfortable in the A & E waiting area is unacceptable. There is an atmosphere that seems to suspect all patients of being hypocondriachs, people with mental health problems or just plain nuisances. I'm reluctant to do it because of the strain it'll put on the system, but next time if I get one of the cauda equina red carded symptoms, I'll call an ambulance as the clinician at the 111 service advised me to do.

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Responses

Response from Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 10 months ago
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Submitted on 16/08/2024 at 17:31
Published on Care Opinion at 17:31


Thank you ever so much for taking the time to share your feedback and we are really sorry to read that you had a poor experience attending our A&E department due to the discomfort you were in with the pain you were experiencing due to having to wait on a chair and no other waiting space being available for you. We are sorry to hear that you chose to leave the waiting area due to feeling so uncomfortable while waiting in a chair, this sounds like a very difficult decision to have taken and we are sorry that you felt you had no other option due to the lack of bed/trolley availability to wait on.

In order for us to be able to investigate this matter and provide you with more information specific to your situation, please contact our PALS team on 0114 271 2400 or by emailing sth.pals@nhs.net. The PALS team will ask you to share some personal details in order for us to investigate this matter for you.

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