Hospital patient says he was left in agony in chair for 20 hours
A MAN says he waited in agony for 20 hours in a chair at Hull Royal Infirmary and was asked intimate questions in front of other patients.
Paul Johnson was admitted to the hospital with a slipped disc in his back and said he was made to sit in a reclining chair for almost four hours before seeing a doctor.
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COMPLAINT: Paul Johnson is unhappy with the way he was treated at Hull Royal Infirmary. Picture: Jerome Ellerby
Mr Johnson's experience came just weeks after the unit he was on – the acute assessment unit – was inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
The inspection report said the hospital was not meeting standards when it came to the care and welfare of people who use services.
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Mr Johnson, an epilepsy sufferer, says he had his medication taken off him and was told there was not anybody available to help him walk to the toilet.
He has now lodged a formal complaint with the Patient Advice and Liaison Service and the matter is being investigated.
Mr Johnson, 59, said: "I've been mistreated and I'm very angry about what has happened.
"I was sitting for hours with other patients who had been there just as long as me.
"There were nurses running around and no beds available.
"The only time I saw a bed was to be examined and a doctor asked me intimate questions.
"I was told a slipped disc could cause problems but when I asked if we could talk about it somewhere else, I was told there wasn't anywhere.
"Nobody wanted to hear about my sex life and I heard people sniggering when I was told I'd need to be examined."
The CQC inspectors visited the unit on January 8 and 10.
The report found some people had not been seen by a doctor for up to six and a half hours despite the ward being for assessment rather than continuing care.
Inspectors found people did not experience care, treatment and support that met their needs.
It said: "Of the 19 patients on trolleys, some were clutching vomit bowls, some had covers over their heads to block out the light and some were staring into space, visibly unwell."
Mr Johnson, of Nicholson Street, west Hull, was taken to hospital at about 6.30pm and was not discharged until 1.50pm the following day.
He said: "My legs were swollen and I could hardly walk. I was in a great amount of pain and rang for an ambulance. I took my epilepsy medication and painkillers with me, but they were taken off me when I got there, and I was put in the waiting room in the acute assessment unit.
"I sat there and waited for hours and nobody asked if I wanted a glass of water. I was just given a blanket and told to stay where I was because there weren't any beds.
"A doctor who came to see me at about 11pm asked me personal questions and I asked a few times for my medication – I need to take my epilepsy tablets five times a day.
"I was told I would get them soon but I never saw them again."
Mr Johnson said he spoke to other patients who had been waiting hours to be seen and at one point he was left alone in the corridor in a wheelchair.
"For most of my visit I was sitting in the reclining chair and realised that was going to be my bed for the night," he said.
"I saw a surgeon and was told to come back for my medication and had to walk home after being discharged.
"Nobody should be treated like that and I would like an apology."
A spokesman for Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust said Mr Johnson's complaint is being investigated and they will respond to him directly.
26 Comments
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by vivax74
Sunday, March 17 2013, 6:40PM
“Dear fellow citizens of Hull,
I strongly suggest you to get together and form a group (and name them Hull Citizen's alliance) and work with the front line staff at HRI for 48 hours and then submit your report to media. The group should be made of citizens who have no interest in health care services whatsoever, to rule out any bias. This report will give the clear picture.
I can give you some findings in advance:
1) Grossly understaffed A&E, AAU
2) Highly inadequate bed numbers leading to leading to patients being transferred to inappropriate wards ( for example man with prostate cancer cared for in chest medicine ward, lady with diabetes cared for in cardiology, pregnant lady cared for orthopaedics)
3) Mixing of MRSA, C difficile patients with healthy patients due to lack of side rooms.
4) Inadequate junior doctor guidance out of hours.
5) wrong prescriptions, non-existent or outdated guidelines/protocols,
6) Ever waiting queue of patients on trolleys/ wheel chairs.
USE A.A.U. AS THE MIRROR OF THE QUALITY OF SERVICES PROVIDED BY THE WHOLE TRUST. THE DAY A PATIENT GETS INTO HIS/HER BED WITHIN 4 HOURS FROM THE TIME HE/SHE ENTERED THE A&E, WE ARE BLESSED.
Until then fingers crossed and hope for the best.(and I know that that day will never come)”
by JayOnly
Saturday, March 16 2013, 5:34PM
“by jonnybegood...we're not in India though, are we; we're in the UK, one of the richest countries on the planet and we're always telling the rest of the world what a fantastic thing the NHS is - and I'm sure it is but 'not good enough' isn't good enough. Being parked in a corridor for hours isn't world class standard, is it? discussing one's personal life is not for public broadcast, is it...what if it was a young woman explaining that she's just been gang banged in the local park, would that be for broadcast, too.
If the guy is making a spurious claim then blow him out, it happens, so what. Privacy is as much a right as being able to take a p... in private.”
by jonnybegood
Saturday, March 16 2013, 3:48AM
“I was in AAU afew months ago and the staff could'nt help enough .All you people who are moaning want to go to places like india then you will know what a waiting list is and you will get seen when they are ready not when you start moaning You people should get a life amd think yourselves lucky that you have a NHS because if truth be known if there was,nt a NHS how many of you would turn up at the AAU if you had to pay? not a lot i think!!!!!!!!!”
by jonnybegood
Saturday, March 16 2013, 3:28AM
“this man is a con artist he is trying to get a claim going against the N.H.S do not believe him ask his age ! he is 47 years old the age gap is to make people pity him he is a billy liar”
by JayOnly
Friday, March 15 2013, 9:12PM
“It's the responsibility of the Head man; the CEO. Kick him out...don't waste any tears on him, he'll get his pension anyway. The NHS has dozens of people that ought to do better and there are dozens of people that can do better...all you gotta do is find em.”
by SPBlakeney
Friday, March 15 2013, 7:34PM
“The acute assessment unit is a disgrace, and has more the appearance some days of a casualty receiving station in Syria. All the cash thrown at making Hull Royal cosmetically pleasing should go on to patient care facilities-if efficient, I couldnt care less if A and E has the newest plastic chairing or large screen tvs. I want a doctor, and one within 6 hours please.
Those responsible for resource allocation are a disgrace. Sell that damn*d yacht for a start and give AAU an emergency booster of its own-then get members of the public on the NHS finance board to determine spending, and a lot fewer corporate suits who spend more on PR and questionnaires than antibacterial handwashes for wards. If only the capital had been available to rid this city of HRI all together, and a new build as Beverley has received.”
by ek_its_chily
Friday, March 15 2013, 2:31PM
“And.
Don't forget in order to meet the Government's 4 hour admit or discharge policy in A&E, if there is any doubt at all then admit to AAU and the decision to admit or not is passed to them.
If you notice the majority of complaints are no longer about waiting in A&E, they are about AAU. The problem is the same, all that has happened is the department getting blamed has changed.”
by ek_its_chily
Friday, March 15 2013, 12:11PM
“It is not pleasant and it is not acceptable. Saying that - even if you had a bed the curtains are most definitely not soundproof. The sniggering is more of a reflection on the sniggerers than on the situation - and to snigger at the need to be examined sounds confusing; as if that would ever happen in a hospital!
If you think you have a slipped disc then the best person to speak to is your GP who will examine you (in a room with walls; therefore no sniggering) and can prescribe the right course of treatment which will probably inculde some physio, some rest, some pain relief etc.
By choosing the option above you will not need to encounter the obvious issues you have done. This is why the NHS is built in the three tier form it is so certain conditions do not need to be treated through the AAU/A&E route - as in it it is NOT acute, it is NOT an accident and it is most definitely NOT an emergency.
You may not have been aware of the above just like many many people including, it seems at times, GPs.
Because people always fear the worst they will always go the A&E route. The system is overloaded because in fact A&E should be the last option not the default one.”
by bulldog60
Friday, March 15 2013, 11:58AM
“AAU is not the place to be its a dredfull place”
by Avondaler
Friday, March 15 2013, 11:26AM
“My husband was in taken into A&E only LAST WEEK by ambulance with chest pains. He waited 40 minutes to see Triage, a further 3 hours waiting on a trolley in a corridor before seeing a doctor, who wanted blood tests, chest x-ray and an ECG. Whilst the blood and the ECG were done, the chest x-ray was not. After 4 hours in A&E, he was moved to AAU where he was for a further 8 hours on a trolley in a corridor because there were no beds available. He didn't see any doctors until 11 hours after admission. Some staff were lovely but the senior nurses didn't have a clue what was going on, they 'lost' patients, didn't check or do obs on anyone but just appeared completely overwhelmed by too many patients. No one seemed to know what was going on. We asked a couple of times we he would go for x-ray, but no one seemed bothered until one doctor insisted he went for the x-ray. He was then discharged at 5am and referred to the chest pain clinic.
He has told me that under no circumstances am I to let him go back into HRI or dial 999 for him as he would sooner suffer at home! Not a good recommendation for HRI/AAU. We had thought of contacting PALS but wonder if it would make any difference at all - I think NOT.”