So annoyed and upset right now. I had an accident earlier and ended up cutting my arm a fair bit including one that you may well say is deep. I went to the hospital and they handed me a form and then left me in the waiting room for 40 minutes... they did not check if I was bleeding still (I was), if I was feeling ok (I wasn't) or anything else for that matter. After 40-45 minutes I walked out with my forms.
Now... I am not unreasonable and if the staff were busy treating someone I would not be complaining, but they were sat, sipping tea and gossiping...
10 minutes after I left I had a phone call which I ignored and then when I got home the police phoned and told me that they were coming round to see me... to check on my welfare etc which all went well.
Had I been in a worse frame of mind, or suicidal this could have ended a lot worse. What if I had been there as a last ditch attempt to cling to life and was ignored? I would have ended up dead. What if I had taken a knife, or piece of glass or anything into the hospital? What if I was bleeding more than I was? What if I had other injuries.
I am going to be writing to the hospital manager and the head of NHS Scotland to tell them how I feel about this and send them a photo of the damage I had done and a copy of the form I filled out to prove I was there (also incidentally the nurse is meant to fill the form out when they see you). So angry right now that I need to calm down or will end up having a nose bleed or something :(
You go, Mike! Write that letter to the hospital manager because YOU'RE RIGHT!!! That's nuts that they left you alone while bleeding (shudder) while they sat and gossiped. Man oh man, what the h**l were they thinking?
It was an accident, right? I'll be happy to hear "yes."
PS: Where to send you US quarters with special backs??? (That should improve your mood.)
Hi mike, I’m sorry you had such a hard time, you should follow up with the letter, they were so wrong to let you sit there… I hope your doing ok, my thoughts are with you…
As a retired nurse academic I’m horrified to hear your story but I was treated just as badly myself at the local hospital last December.
I have written to the organization but no reply. The next move is to the local newspaper and threaten social media that does seem to have an effect.
Very sad because it’s all in the attitude of health care folk,and that doesn’t cost any money.
take care, thank goodness you are informed enough to know when you can just walk away, some other folk don’t know, or are too sick to do the same thing and that is why it is important to follow it up on paper. barb
Try looking up your local NHS board website, then find the link to make a formal complaint. That should have more impact than a simple letter, as it has to be recorded as a complaint, where a letter could be filed as a "comment".
And I thought what you described would be " Health Care in America. " Sad to find out that it happens in a lot of places in the world. It seems like there are few people in the world that actually care about more than just a paycheck ! What in the world is happening ?
I will definitely be following it up... As I said in what I wrote if they were treating other patients then I would not mind waiting all night if need be but they were just yapping... People with an undiagnosed problem could have died whist they were complaining loudly about being bored and counting down until their shift ended xx
I am the first to admit that we are incredibly lucky to have the NHS... without it I would not have had a tenth of the help I have had with things, and they are usually spot on 100%, but yesterday was just a one off incident that should never have happened :(
I believe that a formal complaint, which does require you to follow a set procedure, has to be responded to within a short time. They also have to state how they will stop the same problem happening again.
It's important that you use the complaints procedure they set out, or it won't be counted as a complaint, whatever you put at the top of the letter. It wouldn't count when it comes to how they have to respond or when the board is assessed as to how well they're doing. Go to your local NHS board website and follow the links to complain.
It normally suggests that you complain to the individual practioner (eg nurse or doctor) as the first step, but that isn't appropriate in your case because you didn't receive treatment. In your case, it's often someone at the health board you should complain to, rather than the hospital manager (it does vary, so check with the website).
By following these steps, you'll get the problem dealt with. Good luck and if I can help you with any of it, please just ask.
I think it's a testament to the NHS that we do get so upset on the rare occasions when situations like yours occur. In so many places, that wouldn't be unusual, so it wouldn't create the feelings of anger and upset we feel when the NHS occasionally gets it wrong.
Like you, I am so thankful for the NHS. In countries like the US, I'd be uninsurable and would have died due to another condition I have.
I can relate to this story, my son broke his back and our local hospital's emergency department didn't even give him an x-ray. They told him it was all muscular and sent him home telling him to take some robaxacet or something like that. 10 days later I took him to his family doctor stating that something had to be wrong. His doctor then filled out a requisition for him to have an x-ray and low and behold there it was a broken back. The emergency staff said for him to lie down on the stretcher and for him not to move. I asked them if they were serious as it was 10 days ago and the should have been more concerned when he was in the first time. Well they weren't too long to give him his pain killers then. They also weren't busy as originally he was in and out within 45 minutes also. Letters were sent and complaints were also sent, we have never had so much as an apology.
I dunno. An accident like walking into a glass door because you forgot it was there, and ended up cutting yourself up...or an accident where you were mad as all get and ended up cutting yourself? I actually do care about you and what happens to you, Mike, cause you're a cool guy, so I hope you're taking care of yourself. I mean, I've got a temper too and I accidentally ended up squashed between two cars (one still moving)...not too smart and not too "taking care of myself." I think it'd be good if you don't follow my idiotic lead and actually do take good care of yourself. Mike, I'm gonna hound you until you do, how's that, lol? Cause "accidentally" cutting your arm "deep" could sever something, and if you do something like that my hot Italian temper's gonna go off and I'm gonna be screaming and stomping all around the room, like a Mafia-Rumpelstiltskin. And then I'll end up sending you Godfather coins instead of real ones.
Seriously, please take care of yourself. No one else in this world will, so do it for yourself.
This happened to my dad... they discharged him with a broken back and neck and it wasn't until I insisted in a scan when I moved down 4 months later as he wasn't coping that they found it xx
accidentally like losing my temper and attacking myself :( I know I should not do it but I do not think... I wish I did because I keep getting regrets when I have done it :( xx