'Been in A&E for five hours... Meanwhile the nurse is booking her holidays': Patient waiting in 'England's worst emergency unit' catches nurse 'looking at beach resorts on her computer'

A nurse at England's worst performing A&E department was caught looking at beach holidays on her work computer by a furious patient, who claims she was waiting more than five hours to be seen.

NHS bosses have confirmed the incident took place and have said the unnamed nurse was being 'managed accordingly'.

The woman was snapped scrolling through pictures of sunny beach resorts while on the phone.

The image was taken at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, Essex, was shared on a community Facebook page.

It comes amid record pressure on the overstretched NHS, with A&E waiting times, ambulance delays and bed occupancies rising to record levels.


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When I was in hospital a few years ago I couldn't fault the very attentive staff, my husband though was pratically ignored when he was in after an accident. When my father in law and mother in law were in at various times, we ended up complaining about their treatment or lack of it, the nurses would be in a huddle chatting and not about the patients and would be put out if I requested anything.
One lady on the ward (elderly) was becoming very distressed and trying to get out of her bed, climbing over the cot sides well almost, so I went to find a nurse none to be seen at the nurses station or anywhere else = all in the staff room, now I understand they need a break but at the same time, we didn't even do that when I worked in an office dealing with the public, anyway as they say, if looks could kill, they still took ten minutes to come to see to her.

Yeah, sadly I've seen first hand lazy, feckless nurses. I get that they work long hours but for fuck's sake....save trawling the internet for when you get home like the rest of us have to do.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.
MOST people are shit at their jobs. Watch very closely at all times and you’ll see what I mean.

I’ve had numerous run ins with inattentive nurses.

Hmmmm. Nowhere in the story does it say the patient was neglected or never treated.

Was the nurse waiting on lab results? X-rays? A doctor to be free to visit? Things that are out of the nurse’s control. Was she on a break?

Also if you’re well enough to be using a phone to take pictures, perhaps you are not an emergency and therefore shouldn’t be impatient if others take priority?

Also I do not love me the fact that they are searching for information on who this nurse is. Nobody was negligent. Nobody died. Nobody was refused treatment. The nurse didn’t act improperly. This smacks of a witch hunt.

Cass wrote:Hmmmm. Nowhere in the story does it say the patient was neglected or never treated.

Was the nurse waiting on lab results? X-rays? A doctor to be free to visit? Things that are out of the nurse’s control. Was she on a break?

Also if you’re well enough to be using a phone to take pictures, perhaps you are not an emergency and therefore shouldn’t be impatient if others take priority?

Also I do not love me the fact that they are searching for information on who this nurse is. Nobody was negligent. Nobody died. Nobody was refused treatment. The nurse didn’t act improperly. This smacks of a witch hunt.

Seems like she is multitasking, as she is on the phone.
I agree on your points
However, on know experince working within hospitals, some Nurses really do take the piss.
Espically on nights, when they call out the porters to bring them beds, so they can sleep.

Cass wrote:Hmmmm. Nowhere in the story does it say the patient was neglected or never treated.

Was the nurse waiting on lab results? X-rays? A doctor to be free to visit? Things that are out of the nurse’s control. Was she on a break?

Also if you’re well enough to be using a phone to take pictures, perhaps you are not an emergency and therefore shouldn’t be impatient if others take priority?

Also I do not love me the fact that they are searching for information on who this nurse is. Nobody was negligent. Nobody died. Nobody was refused treatment. The nurse didn’t act improperly. This smacks of a witch hunt.

If she's on a break, she shouldn't be sitting in the busy A and E surfing the net but in a staff room. That's just rubbing it in the noses of people who are waiting for 5 hours. If she's waiting for lab results, she still shouldn't be on the internet looking at holiday destinations. And the woman who took the photo might have been accompanying a sick person, not sick herself. You don't have to be at death's door to be in A and E. When you have people waiting like this, it's bad form to sit and do personal stuff regardless of whether you're on a 'break' or not. And as the hospital are dealing with this nurse, clearly she's in the wrong.

Didge wrote:

Cass wrote:Hmmmm. Nowhere in the story does it say the patient was neglected or never treated.

Was the nurse waiting on lab results? X-rays? A doctor to be free to visit? Things that are out of the nurse’s control. Was she on a break?

Also if you’re well enough to be using a phone to take pictures, perhaps you are not an emergency and therefore shouldn’t be impatient if others take priority?

Also I do not love me the fact that they are searching for information on who this nurse is. Nobody was negligent. Nobody died. Nobody was refused treatment. The nurse didn’t act improperly. This smacks of a witch hunt.

Seems like she is multitasking, as she is on the phone.
I agree on your points
However, on know experince working within hospitals, some Nurses really do take the piss.
Espically on nights, when they call out the porters to bring them beds, so they can sleep.

But nobody objects to doctors having a lounge to snooze in? I have no problems with nurses taking a quick snooze. They’ve been shown to increase alertness and productivity.

Of course there are bad apples in every profession but I highly doubt a nurse would be goofing off in an A&E department, regardless of the fact that it’s been claimed as the worst.

Cass wrote:

Didge wrote:


Seems like she is multitasking, as she is on the phone.
I agree on your points
However, on know experince working within hospitals, some Nurses really do take the piss.
Espically on nights, when they call out the porters to bring them beds, so they can sleep.

But nobody objects to doctors having a lounge to snooze in? I have no problems with nurses take by a quick snooze. They’ve been shown to increase alertness and productivity.

Of course there are bad apples in every profession but I highly doubt a nurse would be goofing off in an A&E department, regardless of the fact that it’s been claimed as the worst.

Its not a quick snooze and they generally sleep all night and get paid to do so, when they should be there for the patients on wards. Also now because of so many daft rules, nurses refuse to do many ordinary task and things get delayed whilst they wait for contract clearners, porters etc. Thw whole system, is run so badly finnacially and is one of the reasons the NHS is in such a mess.

HoratioTarr wrote:

Cass wrote:Hmmmm. Nowhere in the story does it say the patient was neglected or never treated.

Was the nurse waiting on lab results? X-rays? A doctor to be free to visit? Things that are out of the nurse’s control. Was she on a break?

Also if you’re well enough to be using a phone to take pictures, perhaps you are not an emergency and therefore shouldn’t be impatient if others take priority?

Also I do not love me the fact that they are searching for information on who this nurse is. Nobody was negligent. Nobody died. Nobody was refused treatment. The nurse didn’t act improperly. This smacks of a witch hunt.

If she's on a break, she shouldn't be sitting in the busy A and E surfing the net but in a staff room.   That's just rubbing it in the noses of people who are waiting for 5 hours.    If she's waiting for lab results, she still shouldn't be on the internet looking at holiday destinations.   And the woman who took the photo might have been accompanying a sick person, not sick herself.   You don't have to be at death's door to be in A and E.   When you have people waiting like this, it's bad form to sit and do personal stuff regardless of whether you're on a 'break' or not.    And as the hospital are dealing with this nurse, clearly she's in the wrong.

There is not enough information in this story to say she was in the wrong. Maybe they were short staffed and she couldn’t taker break? Who knows what the hospial’s policies are? The hospital is dealing with it so there is no need for hunt to try and track her down, but they also don’t say whether she deserves a reprimand or not.

In my opinion it’s scaremongering.

Cass wrote:

Didge wrote:


Seems like she is multitasking, as she is on the phone.
I agree on your points
However, on know experince working within hospitals, some Nurses really do take the piss.
Espically on nights, when they call out the porters to bring them beds, so they can sleep.

But nobody objects to doctors having a lounge to snooze in? I have no problems with nurses taking a quick snooze. They’ve been shown to increase alertness and productivity.

Of course there are bad apples in every profession but I highly doubt a nurse would be goofing off in an A&E department, regardless of the fact that it’s been claimed as the worst.

You wouldn't think a nurse would goof off when patients are crying for water, would you? But they did with my brother. 24 hours without a fucking drink! My other brother had to go across to Kentucky to get him some food and drink. And there was this old guy who'd shat his pants and was trailing shit all over the ward. Nobody came. They were heard discussing the weekend and their sex lives at the nurse's station. I was incandescent when I found out, and wanted to complain but my brother was in such a bad way with his back, he begged me not to in case it made it worse for him. I've known excellent nurses, but also shit ones. Sadly, they exist.

Cass wrote:

HoratioTarr wrote:

If she's on a break, she shouldn't be sitting in the busy A and E surfing the net but in a staff room.   That's just rubbing it in the noses of people who are waiting for 5 hours.    If she's waiting for lab results, she still shouldn't be on the internet looking at holiday destinations.   And the woman who took the photo might have been accompanying a sick person, not sick herself.   You don't have to be at death's door to be in A and E.   When you have people waiting like this, it's bad form to sit and do personal stuff regardless of whether you're on a 'break' or not.    And as the hospital are dealing with this nurse, clearly she's in the wrong.

There is not enough information in this story to say she was in the wrong. Maybe they were short staffed and she couldn’t taker break? Who knows what the hospial’s policies are? The hospital is dealing with it so there is no need for hunt to try and track her down, but they also don’t say whether she deserves a reprimand or not.

In my opinion it’s scaremongering.

If she couldn't take a break, what's she doing on the internet? It doesn't deserve a witch hunt, I agree. I also agree that instead of filming that the woman should have said something. But whatever way you dress this up, it looks bad and unprofessional.

HoratioTarr wrote:

Cass wrote:

But nobody objects to doctors having a lounge to snooze in? I have no problems with nurses taking a quick snooze. They’ve been shown to increase alertness and productivity.

Of course there are bad apples in every profession but I highly doubt a nurse would be goofing off in an A&E department, regardless of the fact that it’s been claimed as the worst.

You wouldn't think a nurse would goof off when patients are crying for water, would you?  But they did with my brother.  24 hours without a fucking drink!  My other brother had to go across to Kentucky to get him some food and drink.   And there was this old guy who'd shat his pants and was trailing shit all over the ward.  Nobody came.  They were heard discussing the weekend and their sex lives at the nurse's station.   I was incandescent when I found out, and wanted to complain but my brother was in such a bad way with his back, he begged me not to in case it made it worse for him.    I've known excellent nurses, but also shit ones.   Sadly, they exist.

How awful. I’m so sorry that happened.

But wow. Kentucky?

Cass wrote:

HoratioTarr wrote:

You wouldn't think a nurse would goof off when patients are crying for water, would you?  But they did with my brother.  24 hours without a fucking drink!  My other brother had to go across to Kentucky to get him some food and drink.   And there was this old guy who'd shat his pants and was trailing shit all over the ward.  Nobody came.  They were heard discussing the weekend and their sex lives at the nurse's station.   I was incandescent when I found out, and wanted to complain but my brother was in such a bad way with his back, he begged me not to in case it made it worse for him.    I've known excellent nurses, but also shit ones.   Sadly, they exist.

How awful. I’m so sorry that happened.

But wow. Kentucky?

He walked into that hospital with a meal deal and nobody stopped him. And you know how much Kentucky stinks! My poor brother hadn't been fed or watered for all that time. He was ringing the buzzer too. But he was laid on his back in agony as he has a spinal injury. The other thing they did was take away his pain medication but failed to replace it. Apparently, they won't let you take your own meds in hospital, you have to be assessed by a doctor and given meds that the hospital supply. Needless to say, no doctor materialised and my bro writhed around in agony for over 24 hours. Fucking disgusting. The offending hospital as a rep for being shit.

HoratioTarr wrote:

Cass wrote:

How awful. I’m so sorry that happened.

But wow. Kentucky?

He walked into that hospital with a meal deal and nobody stopped him.   And you know how much Kentucky stinks!   My poor brother hadn't been fed or watered for all that time.   He was ringing the buzzer too.   But he was laid on his back in agony as he has a spinal injury.    The other thing they did was take away his pain medication but failed to replace it.   Apparently, they won't let you take your own meds in hospital, you have to be assessed by a doctor and given meds that the hospital supply.   Needless to say, no doctor materialised and my bro writhed around in agony for over 24 hours.   Fucking disgusting.   The offending hospital as a rep for being shit.

Ah ok. Interestingly my stepfather developed a huge liking for KFC during his stay for double amputation and then in rehab.

With your brother, I know about the meds having to be given by the hospital (because the doctor has to proscribe them based off of their assessment and not others). It’s for patient protection. maybe you already know, but NIL by mouth is a standard procedure until they know exactly what is happening with the patient and they can’t take chances if surgery is needed. He should have had a drip though. We had an excruciating time with senior junior when he had a major accident. He had had elbow and pelvic surgeries and was in rehab and then his lung collapsed so ambulanced back to A&E where we sat for 18 hours with no pain meds and no food/drink for him because he was going to have surgery. But he did have a drop and we could let him suck on a wet facecloth. They did finally get a proper bed brought down because of his pelvic surgery. It was hot, noisy and awful but the doctors on duty kept coming in and rushing out apologizing because higher priority people came in.

It’s awful watching someone you love in pain. So heartbreaking and yes infuriating because you want them fixed now but it sometimes doesn’t happen due to unseen circumstances. I hope your brother recovered fully.

There are good nurses and bloody useless ones,I have encountered a lot more good ones than bad thankfully. 
People should always speak out, though personally if I saw a nurse surfing the net looking for holidays when she should be attending patients I would speak directly to her rather than take a pic and rush to the papers or facebook  with it.

Syl wrote:There are good nurses and bloody useless ones,I have encountered a lot more good ones than bad thankfully. 
People should always speak out, though personally if I saw a nurse surfing the net looking for holidays when she should be attending patients I would speak directly to her rather than take a pic and rush to the papers or facebook  with it.

I remember being in the HSBC once,  and there was this massive queue.   Only one teller was on, but another one was sitting there shuffling papers and tinkering on the computer.    After 10 mins of the queue not moving, I thought, fuck this and shouted out....'Are you going stop fannying around and  attend to your customers?'    I got a round of applause!

Cass wrote:

HoratioTarr wrote:

He walked into that hospital with a meal deal and nobody stopped him.   And you know how much Kentucky stinks!   My poor brother hadn't been fed or watered for all that time.   He was ringing the buzzer too.   But he was laid on his back in agony as he has a spinal injury.    The other thing they did was take away his pain medication but failed to replace it.   Apparently, they won't let you take your own meds in hospital, you have to be assessed by a doctor and given meds that the hospital supply.   Needless to say, no doctor materialised and my bro writhed around in agony for over 24 hours.   Fucking disgusting.   The offending hospital as a rep for being shit.

Ah ok. Interestingly my stepfather developed a huge liking for KFC during his stay for double amputation and then in rehab.

With your brother, I know about the meds having to be given by the hospital (because the doctor has to proscribe them based off of their assessment and not others). It’s for patient protection. maybe you already know, but NIL by mouth is a standard procedure until they know exactly what is happening with the patient and they can’t take chances if surgery is needed. He should have had a drip though. We had an excruciating time with senior junior when he had a major accident. He had had elbow and pelvic surgeries and was in rehab and then his lung collapsed so ambulanced back to A&E where we sat for 18 hours with no pain meds and no food/drink for him because he was going to have surgery. But he did have a drop and we could let him suck on a wet facecloth. They did finally get a proper bed brought down because of his pelvic surgery. It was hot, noisy and awful but the doctors on duty kept coming in and rushing out apologizing because higher priority people came in.

It’s awful watching someone you love in pain. So heartbreaking and yes infuriating because you want them fixed now but it sometimes doesn’t happen due to unseen circumstances. I hope your brother recovered fully.

He didn't have a drip, because he wasn't on nil by mouth. He got water when he was first admitted. He was in for a full day and night before my other brother got him some more fluids. And when the Kentucky arrived nobody batted an eyelid. The nurses watched my brother walk right past with the meal deal clutching an extra large coke. I've been in hospital several times, twice with sudden asthma attacks and nobody stopped me from drinking.

HoratioTarr wrote:

Syl wrote:There are good nurses and bloody useless ones,I have encountered a lot more good ones than bad thankfully. 
People should always speak out, though personally if I saw a nurse surfing the net looking for holidays when she should be attending patients I would speak directly to her rather than take a pic and rush to the papers or facebook  with it.

I remember being in the HSBC once,  and there was this massive queue.   Only one teller was on, but another one was sitting there shuffling papers and tinkering on the computer.    After 10 mins of the queue not moving, I thought, fuck this and shouted out....'Are you going stop fannying around and  attend to your customers?'    I got a round of applause!

Lol, you said what everyone else was thinking.
We do tend to put up with a lot here.