Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh Emergency Department 51 Little France Crescent, Edinburgh EH16 4SA

"A&E waiting times at this hospital are worse than any other in Scotland. They say 5 hours and it ends up being 8, 12, 14+. you’re forgotten about, and then when they remember they just ignore the issue and send u home! I had an internal infection in my womb after tissue failed to expel and they told me 3 x that nothing was wrong. Sometimes I waited 9 hours to be told that. My parents bundled me into their car and took me to Victoria hospital, where they were able to see the issue within 20 mins. Staff can be dismissive and rude - however I have met some incredible doctors who were lovely. Long term health issues you won’t find a better service, short term emergency care is shockingly bad."

"If I could give this nightmare zero stars I would. I am sitting here in the A&E for over 11 hours with my mom. They have no supplies. No plan. No transportation and no staff. I had to get paper towels to fold and wet down for her fever. They have no medication she can take for it. I took a small plastic cup from staff water cooler so she could have water to sip. She has poor circulation and her legs are killing her and they have nothing to give her. She has taken 2 Covid test because they aren’t sure if she is positive or negative. She is dehydrated and it took 4 hours for an IV and they keep unhooking it and forgetting to hook it back up. It’s been an hour currently since it was last unhooked. This is a nightmare. They said 5 hours ago they were moving her to another hospital. Nope. Still sitting here. Luckily I brought a small blanket with me or she would be laying there cold with the thin thing they gave her."

"A&E has become dangerously unsafe. There are shortages of beds, even chairs, a skeleton staff of traumatised, underpaid and overworked lovely people who do not deserve to be working in such situations. People are dying unneccessarily due to the chaotic mess that this place has become. Whoever runs the NHS Trust, if they know the state of things, should have taken steps to stop this. If they are so remote, they've no idea, I ask them to please go to A&E for 24 hours. There you will see appalling and horrifying scenes. 'First do no harm' was thrown out a long while ago and one has to conclude that those at the top do not actually care. It's little wonder that they now have private security guards - loved ones are fading away in a scene more like a warzone than a hospital. My blood oxygen is at 80, but to go back is terrifying. Whoever has allowed this to happen needs to explain why such a huge, hospital, lots of new buildings, M&S, restaurant, plush chairs at one end can justify its treatment of the poor, vulnerable and most fragile people. It is inhumane, soul-crushing and send a clear message to those without means for any alternative."

"I'm writing this from the A&E waiting room where I have been sitting for 13 hours. This is considered "emergency healthcare" but it's a joke. The care itself is good if you can get it. However, many times a name was called in the emergency waiting room, no one responded. Posters cautioning people not to leave without talking to the staff line the walls - an awkward sight for A&E where surely patients need the urgent help. And the thought of how much longer I can stay has crossed my mind. I wonder how many visits were concluded by the patient leaving after 6, 9, 12 hrs of waiting. It might be very revealing if someone uncovered the data. I have never seen an emergency room so ignorant of lacking capacity although I haven't been to another one in the UK. I did see both professionally and as a patient emergency rooms running much much better in Europe. The rational approach is to leave a little bit or even a lot of headroom in capacity. One would think that this is elementary for everyone to figure out. NHS decision makers, where do you fail to follow this basic line of reasoning? You can't hide behind the pandemic anymore. The NHS is overwhelmed by basic day to day work. Points of improvement for A&E from the perspective of a patient: 1. Dismiss patients that just require a 2 minute conversation with a doctor even if they are not urgent. You are filling the waiting room with people that could have been dismissed without much of a delay to anyone else's treatment. 2. Have more than one water vending machine, it is hard to stay in a room with no water for 12 hrs+ when the one is broken. 3. Ventilate the room. The air is so stale there. Just open one window? 4. If a patient has a medical device they cannot take into a CT, X-ray or MRI room, have a sterile place they can put it. Educate technicians about this, they are confused to hear about it. 5. Have a way for the patient to contact their doctor when they wait - reduce the number of people fainting, collapsing, and seizing in the waiting room. 6. Group diagnostic tests for one patient. Do not ask them to come in 5 times over 12 hours to first do an assessment, then blood tests, then other tests. Get the patient through the flow and leave them to wait for results. At least they can sleep then. It will be faster and reduce mistakes than having doctors constantly switch contexts. Yes, I know you have diagrams for treatment. I know you don't know what tests you will need before you get results from some. But many tests (vitals, ecg, initial blood, initial exam) you can definitely group. 7. Reduce the noise in the examination bays. Your doctors cannot focus and your patients cannot sleep which worsens outcomes. 8. Have some kind of sleeping and food facilities in the waiting room if people will wait for so long. You are really hospitalizing them for half a day. Maybe allow them to leave to the main building and eat in the canteen? Maybe have other food in the vending machine than just candy? Maybe at least try to go to the waiting area just outside when calling your patients in so they can at least get some air? Really, you need to understand you are warehousing people in a tight room for 12 hours and people have basic needs."

"Edinburgh Royal Infirmary one of the biggest hospital in Scotland. Nicely clean and shiny. Nursing staff very helpful and approachable. This hospital have large parking area. Currently free parking as charges suspended due to COVID 19. Disable entrance to all wards and lifts to all floors. Nice large café with hot foods and vending machines. 24/7 desk staff at entrance. So many retail shops such as WH Smith, M & S food store, Coffee shop and many more. Have public telephone facilities installed at every floor."