SEVEN-HOUR corridor wait for A&E patients in Staffordshire
Patients in Staffordshire were forced to wait more than seven hours in hospital corridors before being seen by a doctor in A&E, it has been claimed.
Video footage has emerged of patients stuck on trolleys in corridors at Royal Stoke University Hospital, which has seen an influx of patients since County Hospital's A&E department started closing overnight.
It has led to fresh calls to see A&E at County Hospital fully reopen 24 hours-a-day to help relieve the pressure.
University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust, which runs both County Hospital and Royal Stoke, said the ageing population is driving A&E attendances up and that it is 'no secret' that the department is 'exceptionally busy'.
Matt Walker, a 32-year-old full time father from Gnosall, took a family member to the Royal Stoke A&E department on Monday evening.
He said he arrived at the hospital at 9pm, but only got to leave at 5am with his mother-in-law stuck on a trolley in a corridor and not seen by a doctor until 4.45am – a wait of some eight hours.
He took to Facebook to vent his frustration, where he shared a video he took inside the emergency department showing patients waiting in beds all along a corridor.
Mr Walker said: "I do not know where to start really. We arrived maybe just after 9pm to the A&E in a car after my mother-in-law had been taken up by ambulance.
"There was roughly 200 people there, with some sitting on the floor as there was not enough chairs.
"Luckily as the ambulance service brought her in she went straight through to a corridor where she was transferred to a bed.
"The corridor contained 20 plus people who were already on beds waiting to be seen. Within five minutes she was observed and then every hour until 4.40am when she was seen by the doctor.
"Every time someone was seen by a doctor she was moved forward, one along with everybody else.
"We were not happy but the doctors and nurses did the best they could as they were 100 per cent overworked.
"Obviously there could have been more serious injuries to people coming in. Some were waiting longer but the majority were there or thereabouts waiting as long as us.
"People were tired as they couldn't rest as they were either having observations or being wheeled to a space forward in the corridor."
With Royal Stoke a 40 minute drive away for Mr Walker and County Hospital just 10 minutes, Mr Walker said he was '100 per cent' in favour of bringing back around the clock A&E services to Stafford.
He added: "It would not completely solve the problem but it would ease the workload on the staff."
Responding to the video, Dr Julie Norton, clinical lead and emergency medicine consultant for the UHNM NHS Trust, said: "It is no secret that our A&E is exceptionally busy and over the last two months we have been asking our local community for their help in ensuring they use NHS services appropriately.
"We would like to thank everyone for their support as we acknowledge this is a very busy time.
"Only 35 per cent of our patients require admission, and many would be treated more quickly and efficiently by visiting their GP, walk-in centres and pharmacies.
"The ageing population continues to drive an increase in A&E attendances and we are seeing many more patients over 85-years-old and increased numbers of ambulance referrals.
"There are pressures in social and community care, which makes discharging patients home difficult, and we have asked for support from relatives in helping us to get their loved ones home.
"The resilience of our A&E is a testament to the hard work of staff within the trust and they are committed to keeping patients safe.
"Our emergency centre staff are here to treat accidents and emergencies so my team are asking everyone to please use services wisely and allow us to focus on the people that really do need our care."
