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Hospital A&E weren’t sympathetic about autism

NAS66534

Hi there, I went to hospital last night as I have oedema. When I walked in I was told to go to the waiting room but to sign in at reception first. Listening to music is often a trigger for me so I asked if I could wait somewhere quiet as I have autism and was told to speak to a nurse. With some reluctance I was shown to a quiet area. There were no other patients either waiting room. I saw a nurse who felt that I should talk to a doctor. She took me back to the noisy waiting area and I said I couldn’t wait there and could I go back to the quiet area and she said no go and sit down. Then she turned round to speak to another nurse and as I was near the entrance I just walked out as I couldn’t cope anymore. Do I have the right to a quiet space ? Sorry it’s so long! Thanks Steph

  • The last time I was in an A & E, I think I worried the junior doctor sick as I mentioned my hydrocephalus (if I have a head ache, they usually send me straight to majors) I mentioned my eyes were sore and they had a complete overraaction, sent me to Neuro where they decided A&E over reacted, gave them OTT information and made me feel pretty bad so it was more the ward they sent me to but yeah, A&E's are rushed off their feet and won't really have time for quiet areas and I suppose they feel that if you're physically well enough to complain about that sort of thing, you're well enough not to be there.

  • Write a letter or email explaining how you feel to the head of A & E explaining how you were treated and how it made you feel.  The hospital will have a complaints department, so cc in 'complaints dept' also.  When you receive a proper reply (not just an acknowledgement), post it back onto this thread.  Hospital staff should be taught the basic principles as to how mental impairments, autism, ADHD etc affect people and you should expect a 'reasonable adjustment' in order not to disadvantage you.  You were not asking for anything unreasonable,

  • bring head phones next time - i carry ear plugs in my pocket everywhere

  • in reply to Robert124

    yes A&E is a truly awful experience

  • It's an unfortunate fact of life that A&E departments are not autism or mental health friendly.  They are there to treat physical injuries that one can see.  

    In fact you need to be mentally resilient to survive hours waiting in an A&E department.  

    On my visits I barely coped, waiting and waiting with no idea how long it was going to be.