36 hours of hell
Patient spends day and a half in hospital corridor
I was just horrified. Corridors and corridors of people on trolleys. It was awful
A DEMENTIA sufferer spent 36 hours on a trolley in a hospital corridor in scenes his daughter said were “like the seventh circle of hell”.
Brian Myserscough, 80, was rushed to A&E by ambulance after falling over at home.
He was then given a laminated identity label to signify he was receiving “corridor care”.
Daughter Gail Myerscough, 52, said: “I was just horrified. I have never seen anything like it. Corridors and corridors of people on trolleys. It was awful.
“And I am not blaming the staff, the staff were amazing – but they were run off their feet. There is not enough of them.”
Gail said her father was taken to Blackburn Hospital’s A&E department at around 1.30pm last Saturday.
His wife Brenda, 77, had travelled with him in the ambulance and managed to wait in the corridor until 1am on Sunday.
Gail, an illustrator from Manchester, said: “Because people are in corridors, there is nowhere to sit with them. She was just hanging around by this trolley so she was shattered.”
On Sunday Gail went to Blackburn with husband Matt, 58, to find her dad, who lives in the Lancashire town, still on a trolley.
She said: “He was in a hospital gown and my mum had taken him some clothes, so we had to change him in the corridor. “There was no dignity at all. “And that sign that was on his trolley, that just normalises what is going on, ‘Corridor Care’.
“I was horrified by it.”
She added: “He couldn’t sleep because it was so busy.”
Her father was finally put on a ward in the early hours of Monday and Gail said: “My dad was shattered. My mum said when he got to the ward he slept all day.”
In a tweet Gail described the scene at the A&E as “like the seventh circle of hell.”
Speaking to the Mirror, she added: “I’m not moaning about the people who work there, I’m moaning about the Government. The NHS has been squeezed dry.
“We spoke to a nurse on Sunday when we got there and she said ‘I’m really sorry, I’m really busy, lots of people have not come in. There is only me on this section’.
“I think the NHS is just completely overwhelmed, isn’t it.”
Mr Myerscough was still in hospital yesterday being treated for a urine infection which is thought to have led to his fall.
Last week the hospital trust warned wait times at the A&E department were more than 12 hours due to high demand.
Sharon Gilligan, East Lancashire Hospitals Trust chief operating officer and deputy chief executive, apologised to anyone experiencing long waits.
She added: “The A&E at Royal Blackburn is one of the busiest emergency departments in England and we are regularly breaking records for the number of people who come in.
“Unfortunately, when all cubicles are full with patients, it does mean we need to use corridor space. Please be assured that whilst patients are waiting for a bed, they are being cared for, reviewed, assessed and supported by colleagues.
“Please help us by only attending emergency centres if you have needs that are life-threatening.”