"A sick and hungry young child made to wait"

My young child had been sick for 5 days and was starting to get better. However, they were not well enough to go to daycare. I had tried to arrange for someone to mind them and collect them from my partner at work who was unable to leave work and I was called away from work to do so. I required a DRs certificate as a result and unable to get an appointment at the DRs surgery for the day. I proceeded to go to the hospital and explained my situation. They asked me if I needed my child to see a Dr, I said I guess not really as I know they are getting better and if it will be quicker so I could get them home faster that would be fine.

It turned in to 6 people I believe, coming in after we did and leave before us. In my opinion, these people were visibly not as sick as my little child, but because I agreed to just the DRs certificate for myself, my poor sick little child was made wait. They hadn’t eaten since that morning as I drove straight there once I had left work. We arrived at mid-morning. After the 5th patient after us came and went, I went to the nurses' desk and asked what was happening? I know I only need a DRs certificate, however, you have left a young, sick, hungry child in the waiting room and I have seen 5 people come in after us and leave before us, and in my opinion, they were definitely not as sick as my child. By this time it was approx after midday and yet another patient came in. In the meantime, I believe the DR that should have seen us left and another DR came in for a changeover.

This DR then saw another patient still before my child and then the DR then finally came to see us. They then actually finally offered my child an icy pole and tried to make them feel better. What would have made their life better in this time was to be at home, fed and in bed resting! Not in a hospital waiting room passing on the flu to all these people who came and went through the waiting room over a 3 and a half hour period. Yes I know you can wait longer but when you come in and two people are before you and you proceed to see another 6 people go before you that in my opinion most certainly weren’t as sick as my child, I felt disgusted in their choices. I felt like they believed that all I wanted was a day off of work and that I could handle waiting a while longer and all with, I felt, a smug look on the DRs face.

I believe the nurse was horrified when I highlighted them to the fact and the Dr that looked rather smug left very sheepishly in my opinion. I was a volunteer ambulance officer and never ever in my life have I felt so disgusted in mine or anyone else’s treatment as I did that day. I have also never ever felt the desire to make any kind of official complaint. We finally left the hospital an hour after midday. Newman Hospital, I really cannot believe what I was put through that day.