"I felt uninformed and unable to explain circumstances"

I attended Wishaw by ambulance after experiencing chest pain about 9pm. The ambulance service followed all procedures to ensure safety. I was seen by triage at the hospital which consisted of a nurse and csw. The nurse and csw were very relaxed in their approach, chatting amongst themselves about non medical subjects. The nurse at no time got off their chair but advised the csw to do bloods and an ECG. I was then told to sit in the waiting area.

The waiting area was busy not full. No suggested waiting times were advertised.  It became apparent some people had already been there for a number of hours. After eight hours my son approached the desk to ask how much longer would we expect to wait as my husband is palliative care and care would have to be considered. He was told doctor requires to investigate further.

More time passed and due to the lack of any care provision for my husband I had to say I would need to leave. I asked if they could let me know the results of the bloods taken. Again I was advised doctor needs to investigate. I advised I could no longer stay as my husband would be without care and required nasal-gastric feeding and seizure medication. I was handed a form to sign to say I was leaving. I noted on that form that I had to leave due to caring responsibilities. 

I understand there are pressures on services as is continually conveyed by government, various media platforms and the on loop recording within A&E. However in my opinion, Wishaw A&E is just not safe for its users. It seems to have a diminished duty of care; to say triage, done in some cases 10-12 plus hours before leaving or being seen within the department, is safe, is surely not appropriate and certainly after 4-6 hours this triage must be irrelevant to the person's ongoing health state. There is no management of expectation of wait times where caregivers can organise resources in order to meet their and their loved ones needs. 

To approach after following all instructions some 10 hours later to be told you have to be seen and it is against medical advice to leave is, I feel, tokenism. The personal conversations between staff then long wait in the waiting area is hardly medical advice or collating information to inform the best triage.

I raise this in order that carers may be better informed or questioned over circumstances not to put anyone at risk, neither the patient attending nor the vulnerable individual they care for. I felt uninformed and unable to take opportunity during triage to explain circumstances with such a diverse conversation happening irrelevant to health needs.