Blackpool Victoria Hospital apologises after lengthy wait on corridor for elderly patient

Malcolm McEvoy, 75, from Warton, was taken by ambulance to the hospital after feeling unwell during a visit to his niece. He had been suffering from a chest infection and had developed sepsis.

After a lengthy wait in the emergency department, Mr McEvoy was allocated a bed only for it to then become unavailable, leaving him on a trolley on a corridor long into the evening 24 hours on from being admitted.

"That was bad enough, but within hours, in the middle of the night, he was woken and moved to another ward and amid all the confusion, he missed out on a wash for his entire stay,” said Mr McEvoy’s son Chris.

"He was examined by a doctor while still in plain view on the corridor, which is shocking, and even after he had been discharged, he was kept waiting hours for his medication before he could leave.

"We just think it is disgusting and that the level of care needs to be far better. Nobody, especially someone of my dad’s age, should be left waiting so long for a bed and then messed around when he finally gets one.

"Thankfully, he’s improving and staying with us while he recovers but we really were shocked at how it went at the hospital.”

Natalie Hudson, chief operating officer at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “I want to apologise to Mr McEvoy and his family for the distress they may have experienced during his recent visit to Blackpool Victoria Hospital, recognise their dissatisfaction and accept that this is not the quality of care we are aspiring to provide.

“We have been exceptionally busy for some time with very high numbers of people attending for care at A&E.

"This means long waits for some people to be seen and then be admitted to a ward. Further delays are caused when patients who are fit to go home can’t be discharged because they have nowhere to continue their recovery safely. That means at peak times up to a fifth of our beds are unavailable to patients like Mr McEvoy.

“I want to pay tribute to colleagues not just in the Emergency Department, but across the hospital and in our community services, where the team is doing everything possible to support safe, caring and respectful treatment and support every single day and night. I truly believe colleagues could not be working any harder to keep patients safe and we’re doing everything possible to manage this unprecedented demand on our services.

“We continue to review and evaluate all feedback and everything we do to look for areas we could improve to make the patient experience as positive as it can be in these challenging circumstances.

"I would ask local people to only attend A&E if they need urgent care or treatment and, if not, instead consider using NHS 111, pharmacies across Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre or your local GP. This really does make a difference in enabling us to provide safe, caring and respectful services.”