Anger at mum’s 23 hours in A&E

A son has spoken of his anger and frustration about the length of time his elderly mum was made to wait in A&E at Peterborough City Hospital.

Andy Mawby told the Peterborough Telegraph that his 75-year-old mother Jennifer Greenwood was urgently transferred from her city centre GP to the hospital just after 3pm on Monday, March 20 because her bronchial asthma was deemed so severe it required emergency treatment.

Andy, who lives in Louth, said his mum was automatically blue-lighted to Peterborough A&E where she sat in the back of an ambulance – on oxygen – for six hours.

Following that, Andy claims, “she was put in a different ambulance for two hours.”

This would have been close to midnight.

“Then she was taken to the assessment room to be assessed,” Andy continued, adding, “and then put in the corridor, on a trolley, for three-to-four hours.”

The frustrated 57-year-old said his mum finally received treatment at 2.59pm on Tuesday (March 21) - more than 23 hours after she first arrived.

“She was put into one of the cubicles in A&E and the doctor came to see her at 2.59pm,” he said.

At around 3.20pm, Jennifer was relocated to a side ward just off A&E where she stayed overnight.

Andy says he is “very unhappy with the care” his mother received and claimed staff “didn’t seem to care.”

“I think it’s disgusting,” he added, “she’s 75-years-old.”

As well as being angry and upset, Andy is confused: “What I can’t understand is, when someone is blue-lighted from the doctors, that is an emergency.

“So why was this person left in an ambulance for six hours?”

Jo Bennis, chief nurse for North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust, which runs PeterboroughCityHospital,said: “We are seeing an increase in the number of attendances to our emergency departments. Whilst we care for more people, the safety of patients remains an absolute priority.

“We apologise to Ms Greenwood and her family for the experience she received.”

A dissatisfied Andy believes healthcare in Peterborough needs a drastic re-think.

“I don’t think one hospital is big enough for the area,” he added. “We need two hospitals.”

Andy Mawby, left, is “very angry” that his 75-year-old mum was left in corridors and ambulances for 23 hours.