'I can't fault NHS staff - the system is to blame'

A woman whose 96-year-old mother waited an entire day in a hospital's A&E department before being admitted said she was appalled by what had happened.

Jane Parkin's mum Betty spent 24 hours in a corridor at Tameside General Hospital - much of it on a trolley - after falling and gashing her leg at home in Glossop, Derbyshire, in October.

A BBC North West investigation has revealed more than 52,000 patients spent at least 24 hours before they were admitted to the region's hospitals last year, with 6,893 waiting longer than two days.

The hospital trust apologised to the family and said the emergency department had been under high pressure.

Betty was taken to Tameside General by ambulance after her fall.

Jane said that after initial scans and checks which found a chest infection, her mum was put on a trolley in the corridor to wait for a hospital bed.

"The corridor was very noisy," said Jane, adding that "it was bright, there were constantly people being brought in and left, there was banging and shouting."

She said the family took it in turns to stay with her as they worried she would be distressed if she was left on her own in that environment.

Jane said the corridor was so narrow that on two occasions passing trolleys knocked off her mother's catheter, sending it crashing to the floor.

The second time it broke, Jane said, spilling the contents over the floor.

"The nurses were really busy so I mopped it up and tried to put (the catheter) back on the bed... I was just appalled."

Jane also noticed another patient, a young man, lying on another trolley nearby.

"He'd obviously been in some kind of accident," Jane said. "He was bleeding, his head was a mess.

"But the trolleys were banging into his trolley. It was just ridiculous."

The family praised medical staff, who they said treated their mother with "dignity, kindness and respect".

Jane added: "The staff were lovely, they were very calm. They were trying to calm the patients who were distressed, but they were obviously very overworked and quite tired.

"I can't fault the staff - it's the system."

Betty is now back at home.

She does not remember much about her experience, but when her daughter asked her about it, she described it as "dreadful".

Jane said the whole experience had left her feeling "angry and frustrated".

"We know that the system is broken," she said. "It's frustrating because you can't do anything about it and yet you know it's happening to people all over the country.

"People should not have to be put into corridors."

Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care Foundation Trust said the emergency department had been facing high pressure due to increasing demand.

In a statement, the trust said: "While our staff work very hard to see and treat patients in a safe and timely manner, this means that, on occasion, some patients unfortunately wait longer than we would like for a bed to become available.

"In these circumstances, we ensure that we have the correct amount of both nursing and medical staff to deliver the best possible, personalised care throughout.

"We are working hard to tackle long waits and reduce the use of corridor care.

"A new national plan is being developed and we will ensure this is implemented within the hospital.

"We are also working closely with local health and social care partners to help prevent avoidable hospital admissions and help get people home soone,r to free up more beds.

"We recognise the distress that long waits can cause and apologise for Betty's poor experience.

"The trust is engaging directly with Betty and her family to understand and address their concerns fully."

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