"Work Accident"

 The other evening I had an accident at work cutting my hand badly. I grabbed a towel straight away to apply pressure & booked a taxi to Minor Injuries at the Victoria Infirmary as I knew it was a really deep cut.

When I arrived & showed the person on the door they looked a bit uncertain but told me to give my details at reception & take a seat. I waited for  half an hour with my hand wrapped in the same towel, bleeding heavily the whole time. I felt really faint & shaken.

There were a few other people waiting to be seen in the waiting room, who quickly got taken leaving me and one other.

The person who'd seen me at the door called me over, to the door, telling me they wouldn't have time to see me as they closed at 9 o'clock.. they said I should go to the Royal Infirmary & not to leave it overnight (not sure how I even could have considering I'd bled through 4 layers of the towel at this point) as it could cause lasting damage and "it is my career after all".

They pretty much walked me out the door while explaining this, it felt more like being asked to leave a pub than receiving any medical care.

I was quite shell-shocked as I left, feeling really vulnerable. Basically ushered back out in to the rain to find my own way to a hospital at the other side of Glasgow. With the same towel wrapped around my hand, no offer of even cleaning the wound or giving me a fresh gauze or dressing. 

I had the ability & financial option to book myself a taxi, but feel as if they should have checked someone was coming for me, or even offered to call me a taxi. 

When I arrived at the Royal I had to ask the taxi driver to help me to the door at a&e as I felt so faint & was struggling to carry my bag

 At reception they were confused as to why I'd been sent there, but I was taken quickly, & the wound was finally properly cleaned. I received 3 lots of local anaesthetic in my hand & 5 stitches on the wound. 

I'm self employed & rely on my hands for my career so was already really concerned then the whole experience at the Victoria made an already stressful situation so much worse, & the lack of care upset me more than the initial incident had.

 I hope me raising this issue allows the staff members in question to have a more compassionate attitude to people's experiences moving forward.