Whoever says the NHS is improving should spend an evening in the Royal Sussex County Hospital A&E department.

My son and two friends were involved in a serious road accident but escaped with relatively minor injuries.

My son was taken to the hospital at approximately 2am, was seen fairly quickly and had his wounds bandaged.

However, not until 2.30pm, more than 12 hours later, was he given a bed for further treatment. During this period, he felt nauseous and went deathly white.

A passing doctor called for someone to take his blood pressure but no one responded. Fortunately, my son's colour returned and he went to sleep until transfer to the ward.

His friend was concussed and had cuts to her face. She waited for more than six hours until she was seen by a doctor and received treatment that lasted less than ten minutes. During this wait, there was no effort to see how she was feeling.

No one seems to be in control of this department. There seem to be enough staff but little or no endeavour to see patients and give treatment. Politicians and bureaucrats blame lack of investment and, to a degree, may be right.

There are too many faceless "suits" in the NHS receiving good salaries with little little or no grasp of the problems.

-Paul Johnston, Middleton Avenue, Hove