"Lack of privacy in ED"

I recently went to St John of God Midland Emergency Department (ED) with severe lower abdominal pain for what turned our to be a burst ovarian cyst. I appreciate that it was a very busy time (there were 19 people ahead of me as I waited to be triaged, plus many already triaged who were waiting for treatment) however I was really disappointed with the lack of privacy, and general disregard for treating patients confidentially. 

In the several hours I spent in the waiting room, particularly while waiting in the triage seating area, I heard the story of every person who was seen before me. I heard their private details, such as their address. I heard their reasons for presenting at the ED. I heard what medications they were taking, what their symptoms were.  

The triage area has no privacy whatsoever, and because of the partition to separate the nurses from the patients, both parties need to speak loudly to be heard. This may not bother some people, but after hearing everyone else's story I realised that the whole room could probably hear my responses as I was asked about my period, my bowel movements, urination, and other bodily functions and information you generally don't want a room full of strangers to hear. 

The nurse I dealt with at triage did not inspire confidence for me. I had a referral from a GP, who I had seen prior to presenting at ED. I believe the nurse must have only skim-read it, exclaiming, Why are you taking X medication - which was met with confusion until I realised they had read it from the allergies section on the doctor's letter. The nurse several times repeated incorrect information back to me i.e. I would say the pain is mostly in my lower abdomen but is now radiating from my lower back into my legs and they would respond, OK so it's only in your lower back, nowhere else?

There was a staff member in the waiting room going around taking blood pressure and heart rates to provide to the triage nurse, but this was not done in order and I watched people who came in after me get tended to before me. This staff member only reached me as I was being called to the triage desk, 2 hours later. They asked me to take a urine sample so that when I went through for treatment they would have the results, however, this again resulted in an uncomfortable situation as I returned from the bathroom with my uncovered cup and was told to take a seat. There's nothing quite like sitting in a full room of people with an open cup of urine. This was eventually collected from me, but when I was moved through into a bed for treatment, it remained in a sealed bag attached to my folder as the nurse came and went several times, so the perceived rush and need to sit with an open cup of urine in a packed waiting room seemed unnecessary.

After eventually being seen, I was told there was no ultrasound service available as it was now late in the evening. This was the main reason the GP had told me to come to hospital, to clarify the suspected cause of pain/rule out any other possibilities.  I was told that I would get a call in the morning to come back and have the ultrasound, however when I got the call they couldn't fit me in and I had to go to an external site. By the time I had the ultrasound, it was about 17 hours after presenting at ED. Once the ultrasound was performed, no one was able to tell me how I would be able to find out the results and the staff I dealt with seemed confused about the process. It looked like the results would be sent back to the ED but they couldn't tell me how I could get those results. Luckily I had the thought to ask that a copy be sent to my GP as well because I didn't hear anything from the hospital and otherwise I believe I would never have been given the results. 

Overall it seemed like a really ramshackle experience, especially compared to the couple of times I have been to other EDs and the lack of privacy was really disconcerting.