'I waited 46 hours in A&E on a plastic chair'

A 77-year-old woman says she waited 46 hours on a plastic chair in A&E before being diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism.

Janet Ramage, from Skegness, Lincolnshire, described her experience at the emergency department in Boston as "abuse".

"I shouldn't have to go and fight for them to treat me," she said. "I'm not afraid of dying, but... I want a chance at life."

Lincolnshire Community and Hospitals NHS Group (LCHG) apologised for "any experience that has fallen short of the standards we strive to provide".

According to Ramage, she arrived at the Pilgrim Hospital on the afternoon of 18 January. She was admitted to a ward two days later.

During her wait, three different doctors told her they would like to treat her, but were struggling to find a bed.

"I thought, well I'm not going until I get one," she said.

On the third occasion, after about 40 hours, she recalled telling a doctor: "You're not throwing me out of this hospital. I am not going.

"This is abuse, what you're doing to me and it is also cruelty."

Ramage believes if she had left to go home, she would have died.

A CQC inspection of urgent and emergency services at Boston Pilgrim Hospital, published in July last year, found urgent and emergency services required improvement in five out of six categories.

NHS figures show that, since June 2023, the hospital's parent trust has consistently failed to meet the national standard of 95% of visitors to A&E and minor injury units being dealt with within four hours.

In January, the United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, which is part of LCHQ, recorded a figure of 62.7%, compared with the England-wide average of 72.5%.

Of the 21,729 visitors during the month, 5,098 required an emergency admission to hospital via A&E, with 1,595 waiting more than 12 hours.

According to Ramage, she had begun to have trouble breathing four days before going to A&E.

She said she had called her GP and was advised to dial 999, but she waited because she wanted to see if rest would help.

"And then I started losing blood when I went to the lavatory, so I dialled 999," she added.

After her 46-hour wait at A&E, Ramage was admitted to a ward.

She said she had two blood transfusions and her family were told she had a pulmonary embolism, which the NHS describes as a potentially life-threatening condition resulting from a blood clot blocking a blood vessel in the lungs.

Ramage said the level of care on the hospital ward had been "excellent" and she was discharged after 10 days.

However, she said she was "disgusted" about her experience in A&E and had complained to doctors at the time.

"It was diabolical to put me in that position to start with," she added.

Healthwatch Lincolnshire, a patient advocacy group, said it had seen an increase in demand across all health and care services.

Dean Odell, head of operations, said: "It is having a dramatic affect on patients and staff alike.

"We would like to see improvements in patient flow, staffing support and communication with patients while they wait."

Nerea Odongo, group chief nurse for LCHG, said: "We take any concerns about patient care and experience very seriously and we apologise for any experience that has fallen short of the standards we strive to provide.

"While we are unable to comment on individual cases, we are sorry that Janet and her family feel their experiences have not met the high standards we expect.

"We would encourage anyone with concerns about their care to contact our patient advice and liaison service."

Additional reporting by Amber Macey.

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