I recently spent from 1.15am to 11.35am at the Royal Sussex County Hospital A&E with my husband who was suffering severe abdominal pain and a crashing headache that made his short-term memory worse.

On arrival at the hospital (by ambulance), we were seen by a lovely nurse who took his blood pressure and told us a doctor would be along shortly. We waited for one-and-three-quarter hours, all the time my husband writhing in agony because he could not have medication until he had been assessed.

I asked the sister at the front desk how much longer had we to wait to see the doctor and was told three to four hours. We had already been there for nearly two. Surely they could have more than one doctor in A&E.

My husband was eventually seen at about 5am and was told we would have to wait until the morning crew came on so he could be assessed further. Meanwhile, he had been given an anti-emetic and a couple of painkillers.

We were eventually seen by the doctor at about 9.45am. He disappearared to phone my husband's doctors and came back at about 11.20am to say my husband had to see his own doctor for referral for an endoscopy and to be checked out for his short-term memory loss.

Why can hospitals not give the endoscopy there and then to save further agony while waiting for a referral and treat the problem so they do not have to take more time up in A&E in the future?

I have been waiting seven years to have something done to my knees and hips. I had to wait months for a scan on my abdomen and have been waiting to see a cardiologist for six months.

-Hannah-Carin Bauer, peej@onetel.net.uk