Back to emergency times

I'd been feeling unwell since Saturday, with really severe headaches and other worrying symptoms. Eventually I called a taxi at 8pm last night and took myself off to A&E. Things went reasonably well after checkin and I was soon called to triage. It was all downhill from then on, though. It was midnight by the time I was brought down for a CT scan, and then it was settle-in time waiting to be seen by a doctor.

Hour after hour passed. My phone battery got dangerously low and one of the nurses came to my rescue with a charger. After that bit of excitement things got more and more frustrating as I saw lots of new patients being called in from the waiting area and being seen immediately by a doctor. Finally, when I'd been 'upgraded' from a chair to a trolley and there was still no sign of being seen and the clock had moved its way on to 7am, I went up to the nurses' station and asked how much longer I'd be waiting.

'There are still five people ahead of you' was the answer. Judging by the way new patients from the waiting area were constantly skipping the queue, I'd had enough and told the nurses I was going home. I explained that I'd already arranged an appointment with my GP in the afternoon and asked if the CT results could be sent on. That automatically happens, they explained, but it usually takes days. Anyway, I left, called a taxi and was back home at 7:30.

I met my GP at 1pm and we talked things through. On my way out I booked another appointment for Monday, hoping they'd have the CT report by then. Outside, I calmed down with a pleasant hot chocolate and blueberry muffin.