Woman made to wait 15 hours in 'overcrowded' A&E waiting room after collapsing at home
After being rushed to the A and E at Queen's Hospital in Romford and regaining consciousness, Naomi Stannard was taken to a “very overcrowded” waiting room and made to wait an hour for a blood test.
A man has been told he will have to wait 15 hours to see a doctor in A&E after his wife collapsed at their home.
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Paul Stannard, 55, dialled 999 just after midnight when his partner Naomi, 58, fell to the floor while going to the toilet in their home in Hornchurch, east London.
After being rushed to the A and E at Queen's Hospital in Romford and regaining consciousness, the couple were taken to a “very overcrowded” waiting room and made to wait an hour for a blood test.
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But this was only the start. Once the tests were done, they were taken back into the waiting room, filled with - ‘very elderly and very injured people’ - and told they would not be able to see a doctor for at least 15 hours.
According to Mr Stannard, those waiting to be seen have been told the extraordinary waiting time was because there were two doctors on shift.
“There are people in here that have been waiting to be seen since 1pm yesterday (Thursday),” he told LBC.
“There has been a lack of communication and information given to us. All the staff are clearly burned out and there is apparently only two doctors available in A and E.
“We appreciate that there can be long waiting times at hospitals now and it’s not the staff’s fault. But this is crazy. Someone in the hospital’s management needs to explain us what is going on.”
Mr Stannard says there are currently between "40 and 50" patients waiting to be seen, with more queues and crowds visible around the rest of the hospital.
Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust (BHRUT) - the trust responsible for Queen's hospital - announced that it would be launching a new electronic patient record (EPR) system on Saturday (November 8).
But their current paper system has been given as a reason for the long delays to Mr Standard, who said: "They told me their are delays because they are having to do everything on paper until they go over to the new system.
"I've seen staff taking patients names on scraps of paper. But they should be making patients aware this is the reason for the waiting times."
This is the first time the Stannards have had to use the hospital, but Mr Stannard says it does not have “the best name” locally.
He did however, praise the paramedics, who arrived at his home less than 10 minutes after he called and promptly took his wife into hospital.
"People just don’t know what is going on at the moment. The staff are doing their best, but the chief executive needs to come down and give us a proper explanation,’ Mr Standard added.
Last month, the NHS was given the green light to make patients wait longer to save money.
Local health bosses were encouraged by ministers to impose “minimum waiting times” in order to limit the number of patients they treat.
NHS waiting lists have risen for three months in a row, and health chiefs have acknowledged that that is partly down to a renewed focus on cost-cutting.
Because of this, vulnerable people have been left waiting in pain for treatments such as hip replacements and cataract operations.
Matthew Trainer, Chief Executive, Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We’re sorry Naomi has been waiting a long time in Queen’s Hospital.
“Our A&Es are very busy and we’re seeing a high number of sick patients. Last month was the busiest October ever.
“Our staff are working hard to care for everyone and are prioritising those who are most clinically urgent.”