Princess Royal University Hospital A&E is a shambles!

I was there at 3.30pm, and finally admitted at around midnight for an operation.

So far as I could see, everyone had a legitimate reason to be there. There was one drunk, a couple of belligerent men and a very confused old lady who kept shouting for someone to get the police as she was there against her will. Otherwise there were people with obvious fractures, some people were vomiting. Some were clearly distressed and holding on to pain. There were little children with worried mums and dads.

People who are sick are vulnerable and afraid. There weren’t enough chairs....some people had to sit on the floor. We were exhorted to find other places to get help because the waiting time could be up to 11 hours - as if there were other places offering assistance!

There are fatuous ‘mission statements ‘ around the building which are meaningless unless resourced.

Clearly this is unsatisfactory. No one should be put in this position. I have started an online petition for this to be addressed by Kings. The trouble is, we tend to give no thought to these issues until we experience them.

However, this sorry state could affect any one of us and essentially put our lives at serious risk. We must act. Lewisham residents did and saved their hospital.

This is the only realistic resource in our area and cannot cope with the demand. I understand there are, literally, thousands of proposed new dwellings in housing developments. We just don’t have the infrastructure to deal with the current population let alone more.

Please understand this is not a complaint against the integrity and dedication of frontline staff. This is a comment on a failing service which must be saved. The future is terrifying.

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