The Royal London Hospital 2018-11-09 Person 2 5 0

The nurse conducting initial assessment in Emergency Department (introduced herself as Grace) was not friendly, compassionate and approachable. She mentioned that a Dr will visit us "in a sec" and when I tried to get an update after waiting almost an hour, she was being very passive and palming me back into the cubicle and responded by stating, "You have only been here for an hour, the Dr is here and will be with you when he can". Additionally, there was no seating in the assessment room for the chaperone. The nurse was not approachable and compassionate and her customer service, appalling. She could've handled the situation better and been more compassionate and friendly,, as opposed to regarding 1 hour as acceptable waiting time without appreciating that an hour for the patient and their chaperone feels longer than an hour, especially when their standing in one place for the whole duration. It should be noted that the A&E was not busy at the time. The Nurses and Drs need to be approachable. It's scary and daunting to approach medical staff for an update as the smile from their face fades, from having a casual, non-work related conversation to when a paitient/chaperone approaches them for advice/update. It is unacceptable to see Nurses talking away whilst patients are waiting for updates. NHS staff openly advertise that they should be treated with respect, however they frequently treat patients and chaperones as second class citizens. Patients and their chaperones need to feel comfortable to approach staff and be kept informed of their treatment.