Family tells inquest of 10-hour A&E wait on trolley before pensioner's death

The revelation came as the Manor warned that nearly 500 people are expected to visit the hospital's A&E department this weekend.

An inquest opened on Margaret Waters, 72, at Black Country Coroner's Court this week.

The hearing was told the pensioner, from Hillary Street, Walsall, fell over at her home on December 8.

Mrs Waters' cousin Gareth Littler told the hearing the pensioner lay on the floor for around five hours before managing to find her 'panic pendant'.

Neighbour Ruth Philips was alerted and gained access to the property and found Mrs Waters, Mr Littler added. Ms Phillips called an ambulance at around 11.30pm.

Retired nurse Mrs Waters was taken to Walsall Manor Hospital where – her family say – she was then left on a trolley in A&E for around 10 hours. She died two weeks later on December 21.

Mr Littler told the court on Thursday: "We have a concern over a 10-hour trolley wait.

"She did not arrive on a ward until 10am the next morning.

"We are very concerned that this was a contributory factor that we would ask to be taken into account."

"She had a 10-hour trolley experience between the ambulance taking her and her arriving on the ward in a much deteriorated state.

"We do not want to cause trouble for the hospital but there needs to be public awareness on this. When a loved one gets taken away in an ambulance you assume that the best medical attention is waiting at the other end."

Mr Littler told the hearing he also had concerns about Mrs Waters suffering from dehydration during to the alleged wait on the hospital trolley.

The cause of death given by Senior Coroner Zafar Siddique was a lower respiratory infection alongside other conditions including heart disease, epilepsy and a fracture.

He adjourned the inquest to make inquiries with the hospital.

He said: "I want to hear from the trust and when she was seen. That is not to say that they did anything wrong but it would be premature for me to continue with the inquest at this stage."

Zena Young, Deputy Director of Nursing at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust said: "We offer our sincere condolences to the family of Mrs Waters.

"A full review of the care and treatment Mrs Waters received will be undertaken and we are happy to work with the family to discuss any questions and concerns they may have."