A couple feel they have been “completely failed” after waiting 12 hours in Accident and Emergency (A&E) department at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich for a brain scan, despite the risk of a potentially life-threatening condition.
Phoebe Howard, who was accompanying her partner Henry Fettes, explained that a night of delays, administrative errors, and a lack of care that left them feeling shocked by the poor experience.
The couple visited the hospital after Henry, who has a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI), experienced severe headaches.
Following advice from their GP, they arrived at the A&E department at 7pm, with concerns that Henry might have a brain haemorrhage requiring urgent attention.
However, their ordeal stretched into the early hours of the morning and lasted around 12 hours.
Phoebe told the News Shopper: “It gave the impression that the staff were overwhelmed or just didn’t care.
“Considering we were there to rule out a possible brain bleed, I couldn’t understand how that wasn’t treated as a priority.
“When I explained this to the triage nurse, she dismissively said ‘the doctor will decide that’ even though the GP had already made the referral.
“The triage nurse was unprofessional—she didn’t look at him properly and was eating during the appointment.
“She entered his details, but a couple of hours later, while I was queuing for the toilet, I overheard another patient saying their details hadn’t been processed.
“That made me check, and I found out my partner wasn’t on the list either.”
Phoebe added that this administrative oversight could have potentially had life-threatening consequences.
The couple then endured further delays, with Henry’s details repeatedly lost or miscommunicated between departments.
Phoebe explained: “We eventually saw a nurse who was good, but then we had to wait again because the triage data wasn’t processed correctly. It felt like we were going in circles, repeating information.”
By the time he was finally seen for an CT scan at 6am—nearly 12 hours later—Phoebe described the overall experience as “horrific.”
The conditions in the hospital added to the couple’s distress. Phoebe said she saw many unclean areas, unprofessional behaviour from some staff members, and what she described as a general lack of urgency.
She added: “There was a patient in the waiting room—a man, probably in his 40s—who collapsed and seemed to be having a seizure.
“It took quite a while for anyone to respond. When the nurses came out, there was no urgency, and one of them even shouted at him to wake up. It was handled really poorly.”
While Henry’s initial CT scan did not show immediate concerns, doctors recommended further tests, including a lumbar puncture, to investigate his symptoms more thoroughly.
Phoebe has arranged these independently as she has lost trust in the hospital’s ability to coordinate care effectively.
She added: “It’s just a real lack of compassion, I would say.
“I guess they’re probably quite numb to things and they’re all extremely overworked. I understand that and really do empathise.
“I couldn’t imagine working in that A&E department, to be honest—it seems awful.
“I am a big advocate of the NHS. I’ve always supported it.
“I think it’s a fantastic thing that we have free healthcare. But for me and for my partner to go in and be completely failed in this way, I’m just so shocked.”
Phoebe explained that the couple will be making a formal complaint over the weekend.
A Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust Spokesperson said: “We’re really sorry to hear about Mr Fettes’ visit to our Emergency Department and would like to encourage Mr Fettes to contact our PALS Team directly so that we can properly look into what happened and respond to him formally.
“He can reach us on 020 8836 4592 or pals.qeht@nhs.net.”