UK

Picture reveals packed hospital corridor where 92-year-old was left for 30 hours

The cousin of a 92-year-old woman who spent 30 hours waiting on a hospital corridor due to a lack of beds has condemned the Conservative government for bringing the NHS “to its knees”.

Barry Kushner, 61, said it was “scary” to witness the state of his local hospital after his relative – who was left “delirious” following a bad fall – spent more than a day on a trolley.

A shocking photo the father-of-three snapped during their ordeal showed dozens of other patients faced similarly “chaotic” experiences at the Royal Liverpool Hospital.

The picture reveals patients waiting to be seen by NHS staff in the busy A&E corridor due to what a trust spokesperson called “incredibly challenging circumstances”.

Barry, a Labour councillor, said he couldn’t “fault” staff for the care they had offered but lambasted the government for the “total breakdown” of the NHS.

He said: “This is visual evidence of the fact that the hospital and the service is on its knees. Patients shouldn’t routinely be treated in corridors.

“I remember 12 years ago, an ambulance would come in six minutes. The NHS service, the ambulance service and the adult social care service is on its knees.

“There’s a total breakdown, a systemic breakdown, of the functioning of the NHS as a result of the government’s policy of divestment.

“This is our safety net. If you are sick, basically, you are going to end up here, and it feels a bit scary. It’s not functioning in the way that it should.”

Barry, from Liverpool, said his cousin’s ordeal began on Thursday evening (December 1), when she picked up an infection after suffering a fall in her own home.

He was alerted to the woman’s plight by a personal alarm system for elderly residents.

After initially spending 20 minutes on hold to the 111 service, he called for an ambulance at around 10.30pm.

Shockingly, the emergency service didn’t reach her until the following morning, on Friday at 9.30am, before taking her to the Royal Liverpool Hospital.

Barry had hoped his cousin, who he didn’t name, would receive a bed as soon as she arrived, but she spent 30 hours in a corridor waiting for one to become available.

She was finally offered a bed around 4.30pm on Saturday (December 3) and remains in hospital in a stable condition.

He said: “She was taken to the hospital and she was placed in a corridor on a trolley, and she was supported by ambulance staff.

“She was there for 30 hours. She was quite unwell and delirious. She was being sick for the first part of the time on the Friday.

“She was moved in the afternoon on Saturday into a cubical in the A&E ward, which was more comfortable.

“She was then moved to the acute medical unit and then moved again to another room because there was still no specific one for her.”

Xural.com

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