"Felt like a number being shunted along a conveyor belt"

I was referred to the Acute Medical Receiving Unit (AMRU) ward by my GP after I was very poorly with a Gastro illness, at this time my GP made me aware that my symptoms were severe and was very clear that whilst its unusual for my age group this could be a type of cancer and needs urgent investigation.

On arrival I was booked in with a wrist band and cannula but then I was just left for 11 hours on a chair with occasional blood pressure checks, I was told that the hospital had a queue for beds and that I would have to wait my turn.

Whilst in AMRU I was not particularly well cared for, due to allergies I requested Vegan food but was then given a lunch full of cheese and cream which I turned down, they then reluctantly offered me a cheese sandwich or an egg mayo sandwich, the health care worker made a point of telling me that they had given me food options and that I had turned them all down, I actually did not get any food for seven hours.

I was promised some medication for pain and nausea as soon as I arrived however despite asking a few times I did not get it until the early hours of the next day.

The healthcare assistant who was looking after me during the day was very rude and made me feel like I was an inconvenience, at one point they made me cry, didn't really expect that when I had been told that day I might have cancer and I was very unwell.

I was on the AMRU for two days and finally at the 12th hour which was approximately 10pm the night staff kindly moved me to a bed. Seriously overall AMRU broke me, I never want to be near that ward again.

In summary I felt like I was just a number being shunted along a conveyor belt, there were vast numbers of people being taken into the AMRU I was checked in okay but then just left and not given adequate medication or food, in fact my blood pressure dropped and I passed out at one point because of this. I tried to contact PALS but unfortunately they never answer the phone and I left messages which were not returned.

I cannot fault the evening staff on the AMRU, they moved me to a bed, got my medication sorted and chased up a bed on a specialist ward, shortly after I was transferred to a specialist ward which was so much better than AMRU, the staff were amazing and I met some very dedicated staff members who were very kind to me and took time out to check on me and ensure that I was comfortable they were a credit to the hospital and the NHS.