Heart attack patient waited for 20 hours to get bed at hospital

AMAN who suffered a heart attack had to wait 20 hours sitting on a hard plastic chair before he could be seen by doctors at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital (GRH).

Ken Jones, 68, pictured far right, who lives near Coleford in the Forest of Dean, was rushed to hospital after getting a bad pain in his chest.

He says he was taken by ambulance at 3.30am on December 5 to hospital and admitted to the minor unit.

“I was awaiting an angiogram, on the list for an urgent one at Cheltenham,” he said.

“Unfortunately I had bad chest pain – the ambulance crew suspected it was a heart attack – and I was taken by ambulance to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital accident and emergency. I was checked in and admitted to the minor unit.”

Mr Jones then had to wait for hours on a hard plastic chair.

“My problem was picked up by a medical associate some time after,” he added.

“It was suspected that I had had a heart attack and they said I would have to wait for a monitoring bed. After seeing progressively higher rank staff, I was transferred to the major unit to a monitoring bed some 20 hours after waiting in a minor injuries unit after a heart attack after getting to GRH. All of this time, I had been sitting on a hard plastic chair. It was confirmed that I needed to stay in hospital till I had the angiogram done.

“The angiogram was eventually done, and it confirmed I had three blocked arteries. Surgery was eventually completed on December 29.”

Mr Jones, who is originally from Dursley, said he is concerned that hospital staff are overstretched. He fears there are not enough staff, and health workers face an impossible task at times.

Deputy medical director Dr Kate

Hellier apologised for the delays Mr Jones had to endure. “We are very sorry to the patient for the delay they experienced to receive treatment,” she said.

“We recognise that patients continue to experience waits longer than any of us would wish and our staff continue to provide the best possible care, across both of our very busy hospitals.

“We would encourage the patient to raise any concerns with our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALs). This would enable us to provide any support they may need and understand their experience and the care they received.”