"Disappointed."

I have had several visits to the ED Department at the Nepean Public Hospital. Every occasion I've waited six hours plus to see an actual doctor. In my opinion, the nurses are lacking actual care and seem so concerned about getting you out of the door. I've seen people with serious injuries waiting hours to have their wounds seen to. On my first visit I thought, oh maybe this is just a one off and they can't cope with the health pressures of the day, but unfortunately it appears that time after time the service and patient care is lacking.

On making my way up the chain and seeing the doctor you are only seen to by a junior doctor, who I feel hasn't had the expertise needed for the actual condition. I remember being so offended and upset to the point I felt the doctor assumed because I am a homosexual that I had the HIV virus, before even giving me any blood tests or looking into my patient notes.  

I confronted the hospital about this and felt they thought it was acceptable for a doctor to speak to a patient like that. In my opinion, the system is so basic for those who can't afford private health care that it's almost non existent. I believe the public hospital needs a complete overhaul, in the ED Department the doctors need to be assessing what care you need, the nurses need to conduct that care. The nurses should not be evaluating that care then deciding how long you wait to see a doctor. In my opinion this is the case at Nepean. I think the nurses need some leadership and some enthusiasm for their job and the four hour target to see a doctor should be the goal. I feel very disappointed.