A&E waiting time figures way off target

The headline news in the Gazette dated August 17 must have been published for my benefit (A&E wait is longest in country).

To read that patients at William Harvey in Ashford face a one-hour wait or more in A&E was, quite frankly, way off target.

On August 10 I was sent as an emergency to William Harvey Ashford by my GP who suspected a blood clot on my lung.

He telephoned ahead and I duly arrived complete with his medical notes.

It was 5.15pm. At 3am the next day, 10 hours later, all I’d had done was some bloods taken and an ECG.

I was told that no one would be available to see me until 7.30am as the consultants were busy on the ward.

By 8.30am my husband started to be somewhat pro-active and eventually I was sent to another section where I was dealt wit, although it was decided I needed another blood test.

During this time in A&E, there clearly is insufficient space for everyone waiting as new admissions kept arriving.

Nowhere to get something to eat, other than a machine dispensing chocolate bars.

The most worrying aspect was that at no point was I told what was happening.

It really is something that needs to be addressed.

Clearly the hospital is ill equiped to cope with such numbers of people. To add insult to injury, I live a 10-minute drive from Kent & Canterbury Hospital which once had a functioning A&E department.