Elderly patient been admitted to hospital but nurses refusing to let family sit with them is this normal?

[Ourhouse2017]

My uncle is aged 84 and had a fall last night, he's neighbour found him this morning and he has been taken into hospital he has the early on set of dementia. My mum and grandad travelled to the hospital to be with him and have been kept in the waiting room. For the first 5 hours they were told it's because they didn't have a cubicle for him and then for the last hour they've said the nurses are with him. He will be frightened is this the norm? My grandad is he's next of kin also. I don't understand why they can't sit with him even when he was waiting for a cubicle the neighbour already told us he is dissorientated and frightened.

The nurses and doctors might be doing things with him and there might not be room around his bed for visitors as well? I'm sure they'll get to see him very soon.

I presume he's in A&E? Until he had a cubicle he may have been on a trolley in a corridor. No where whatsoever for relatives to even stand.

However they may now be able to join him soon.

I do understand that but for five hours they were told he was waiting to be seen and didn't have a cubicle yet surely they could of sat with him then?

Also I will add that the neighbour hasn't seen him in hours. He may not be disoriented now, particularly if it's early onset. Everyone is totally freaked out when they've been lying on the ground with no way of getting up, but once the nurses are around and they're being helped it is something familiar that even those with dementia can understand.

Sat where??? On the ground in the way?

No, this is not normal.

It shouldn't be the norm, John's campaign has been adopted by many hospitals and patients with dementia are allowed open access to their families.

Maybe they could ask if they can just pop their head round the curtain to let him know they're there. That would surely give him some comfort. 5 hours sounds pretty heartless tbh.

Just a possibility..... when my mum first started with dementia, she did often say things that simply were not true. We had her at the docs one day for a flu jab and the journey had upset her so much that she was totally disorientated and distressed, asking repeatedly to go home.
The doc welcomed her and asked how things were and her response was that she was fine, but her fa I'll were cruel to her, forcing her into a car against her will and that she was very hungry and desperate for a drink. We cleared that all up very quickly, but just wondered if it was possible that he has done something similar? In that case they might be keeping him separate until someone can speak to him and guage how compos mentis he actually is at the moment?

It is a devastating illness. My mum is so bad with it now, I seriously doubt she could verbalise any abuse, which makes us long for the days when she complained about being kidnapped!

*family