How bad does it have to get? Gran left for hours on trolley in hospital corridor

Her granddaughter Shelley Howe took this shocking picture in the A&E department at the Royal Stoke University Hospital and was so disgusted she posted it onto Facebook.

She wrote: "This is my 90 year old nan in a queue of 18 trolleys everyone brought in by ambulance. The front of A&E is full too. For god sake how bad do things have to get!"

It prompted the hashtag #StokeCantCope on social media. Bosses at the hospital refused to comment directly on the incident but said Thursday had been a particularly busy day and blamed it on winter pressures.

Services have been moved from County Hospital in Stafford to Stoke as part of a multi-million pound downgrade following the Francis Inquiry.

It is the second time pictures have been posted on social media of patients queuing up in corridors to be treated at Royal Stoke.

Support Stafford Hospital campaigner Julian Porter branded the situation 'disgusting'. She said:

"This is a repeat of last year when Stoke was the worst performing A&E in the country. They have downgraded our hospital in Stafford and invested millions of pounds in the hospitals and they still can't cope.

"I have nothing against the staff there. But it is not right people are on trolleys and may be very poorly. It is disgusting."

Latest figures show the Royal Stoke is performing way below its A&E target which requires 95 per cent of patients to be dealt with within four hours.

Last month, less than 84 per cent of patients were dealt with in the target time.

Robert Courteney-Harris, medical director at University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust which runs the two hospitals, said: "This winter is challenging and the peak in demand this week at both of our hospital sites has seen services remain very busy.

"Patients who queue to be triaged either on trolleys or in seating areas receive appropriate levels of care from a nurse and senior doctors and these patients are continually reviewed during this time."