"Sorry, nothing to like."

What I liked

Sorry, nothing to like.

What could be improved

Triage, and treatment. Waiting times, waiting area.

Anything else?

My 74 year old mother was admitted at 3pm on Friday 5 December 08 on the advice of a GP who suspected Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) in her leg after a recent hip operation.

Upon arrival she was left on a trolley in a crowded corridor. After 2 hours, still no one had seen or spoken to her and more people were now being admitted. Several patients around her were in pain and calling out. I asked a senior nurse when my mum would be seen and she told me 7 hours minimum but most likely not until the next morning. There were no beds or cublcles available and we had to wait in the corridor, not knowing if the blood clot was spreading to her lungs or brain as we did so.

Faced with the misery of a night in a corridor watching patients in pain and their relatives sobbing, mum took the decision to discharge herself and we are now home, she has not been assesed by anyone and we now feel we are on our own as to future treatment. She says that she would rather die at home than wait at the hospital for the blood thinning drugs that could easily help her.

The hospital let us down, their duty of care falls far short of the expected standards. Why were so few beds available? Why weren't patients being diverted to other hospitals as A&E filled up?

I know how to use the internet, I can make a formal complaint or write to the press but what can the 99 year old woman who was dying on a trolley next to my mother do to let the authorities know what is going on.

The hospital managers need to be in A&E randomly checking how long patients have to wait for triange, how many patients are being left to suffer in the corridors waiting to see a doctor and working out where the problem stems from. The social workers who failed Baby P were sacked it should be no different if hospital staff neglect dangerously ill patients.

There seem to be plenty of staff in the department so how come it takes 7 hours to see a woman with a life-threatening condition?