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4 hour wait for my autistic / non verbal son

Posted By Chlcz93

"4 hour wait for my autistic / non verbal son"

About: Causeway Hospital / Accident & Emergency

(as a parent/guardian),

Waiting 4 hours for my autistic / non verbal son to be seen . D doc told me to go straight down as he has major red flags for sepsis. Only to be told he was constipated! Wanted to wait for another doctor but ended up leaving after another few hours waiting at 11pm! Me and my son were treated differently as soon as we even came in. My son was vomiting, couldn’t hold nothing down, shivering/ roasting/ getting fed up etc but another family came in and got a room right away. Never will I ever be back in causeway! The doctor also told me they would not get anyone senior for me and was very rude and condescending! From 6-11 was a HUGE Waste of time.

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Responses

Response from Victoria McCrory, Assistant Clinical Services Manager, Medicine and Emergency Medicine, NHSCT 4 days ago
Victoria McCrory
Assistant Clinical Services Manager, Medicine and Emergency Medicine,
NHSCT

Submitted on 15/04/2025 at 18:09
Published on Care Opinion at 18:09

Hello Chlcz93

My name is Victoria McCrory and I am the Assistant Clinical Services Manager for Causeway ED. I am very sorry to hear of the experience which you have described. Your experience does not align with the standard of care which I would expect to be upheld within the department, and does not align with trust core values.

Causeway ED has been under sustained pressures for a long period of time, and unfortunately as a result of these pressures our waiting times to be seen can be delayed. We try our best to review patients according to their clinical acuity, but at times this still results in delays to be seen. This does not been that delays are acceptable, and I am sorry for your experience.

I am sorry to hear that you asked to speak to someone more senior, and this was declined. I am sorry that you found staff rude and condescending, and felt that you and your son were treated differently to others. I understand that the ED environment can be very overwhelming for patients with autism, and I am sorry that the standard of care which you and your son received resulted in a more frustrating experience.

I will ensure that your feedback is shared widely with all staff in the department via safety briefs and board rounds. I will also ensure this feedback is tabled at the next ED governance meeting for senior learning.

I hope your son is feeling better soon, and sincerely hope that should you have to present to Causeway ED again that you both have a better experience.

Yours Sincerely

Victoria McCrory

ACSM CAU ED

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful

Update posted by Chlcz93 (a parent/guardian)

I have always loved Causeway, never ever have I had a bad experience but the Doctor had me in tears, they refused to even check him over or anything. I hope I never come across them. Their attitude was very slow and very uncaring and sent a very ill child home with a blood sugar of 2.4!. Very sad.

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