Harold Wood Polyclinic 2021-07-27 Person 1 5 0

Came in a walk in. After being advised wait times at A& E Romford was 8 hours. Was told by the very rude and brusque receptionist wait would be 4 hours. Confusion about what to do upon arrival. You need to stand on a marker to see a triage nurse. Who does to examine you just asks what is the problem and checks you have an NHS number. Gives you a blue or green plastic card without any explanation and this allows you to book in. Then you are told to wait. Not enough seats. Toilet revolting. Idiotic TV. And then the practitioners wander out mumble a name and lead you in ask a few banal questions before referring to an X-ray. It became obvious that my case was serious but little URGENCY in this aspect. Seen after 4 hours when they realised I was a genuine case as opposed to several teenagers with sunburn , who could and should have been triaged out of the process. My case a badly broken ankle shocked them into action. And I was dealt with professionally. But their were not enough staff. The x ray process was chaotic with the x ray practioner having to walk backwards and forwards to collect the papers and clients by hand.

The Triage level needs to be better managed. Some of the cases should not have even got through the door. Small insect bites, blisters as a result of ill fitting shoes, and several minor scrapes and abrasions need to be filtered out of the process. The process of dealing with children before adults needs to be reviewed. With a dedicated children’s clinic. A child with a headache seen before an adult with a broken ankle who had arrived 2 hours beforehand is unacceptable.?