Ralph Upton said it was ‘chaos’ and that there was ‘zero privacy’ for patients in the overcrowded A&E department where his wife was forced to wait more than 25 hours in a corridor with suspected appendicitis
A heartbroken husband has opened up about his wife’s ordeal, after she endured over a 25-hour wait in a corridor at Southport Hospital’s AandE department due to suspected appendicitis.
Ralph Upton, aged 73, recounted how his wife Carol, 70, was left on a trolley among several elderly patients, all anxiously awaiting a bed. The hospital acknowledged the unfortunate circumstances, stating it was ‘regrettable’ that during peak times, patients experienced longer stays in AandE than desired.
Mr Upton sought the help of their local GP when Mrs Upton fell ill, who then suspected appendicitis and provided a note they believed would expedite her admission to the hospital.
The Uptons arrived at the AandE shortly after half-past twelve on Monday (June 23), but found themselves subjected to the standard triage protocols and the same waiting times as everyone else, regardless of the GP’s note. Mr Upton described the scene: “The waiting room was absolutely heaving and they were having to ask friends and relatives to wait outside.”
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He praised the kindness of the staff, who did their utmost under the circumstances, but highlighted the stark reality: “The staff there were so nice and couldn’t do enough for us, but the reality was the place was completely overwhelmed. It’s clear the system just isn’t working.
“After waiting almost nine hours, my wife was eventually popped onto a trolley and placed in a narrow corridor and given a number so the nurses know where and who you are. It was chaos. We were there waiting with all these other people lined up in a corridor as staff rushed about trying to help everyone.
“There was zero privacy and doctors were having to do examinations on people right there in front of everyone. My wife got no sleep on that trolley because people were up and down all the time and the bright lights were on. There’s a question of preserving people’s dignity at play here and there were a lot of elderly people on that corridor.”
He added: “There was no info as to what was going on or how long the wait would be before my wife was placed into a ward. I had to go and talk to one of the nurses to try and ascertain when my wife might get a bed. In the end, we waited on that trolley, in that corridor, for 25 hours hours before being moved to a ward bed.”
Hospital records confirm that Mrs Upton was waiting in the Emergency Department for 33 hours in total, before being transferred to a ward – including 25 hours in the ‘escalation unit’. An escalation unit refers to a temporary or repurposed area – such as a corridor – being used to manage increased patient demand, often during periods of high capacity, reports the Liverpool Echo.
A spokesperson for Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust admitted, “As with all other hospitals in the country, we continue to experience high levels of demand for urgent and emergency care services.”
They further explained, “At times of great pressure, when demand exceeds the number of beds available to admit patients to the hospital, it is regrettable that there may be occasions where patients are cared for in the Emergency Department for longer periods of time than we would wish.”
The Trust acknowledged, “We appreciate how difficult this can be for patients but at all times we ensure that nursing and medical staff maintain the highest levels of care”.
They also stated their intentions around current refurbishments: “We aim to keep any disruption from the current building work to improve the environment for patients in Southport Emergency Department to a minimum, and offer our sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused.”
Meanwhile, Mr Upton expressed his deep respect for the hard-pressed staff at Southport AandE: “The staff are doing their best, but it’s a shambles in AandE and it is very worrying.”
Highlighting the broader crisis, he remarked, “The system is broken, isn’t it? We all know the system is broken, and I don’t know what the answer is. The winter’s approaching and flu there’s a danger of hospitals becoming overcrowded and more people staying on trolleys.”
He criticised the lack of dignity for patients: “It’s completely wrong. Everyone should be treated with dignity, but there’s little dignity in suffering out in an open corridor.”