Woman with broken back forced to sit on wooden chair in A&E for four hours

Diane King says it's not NHS staff's fault, it's those running it

Jeremy Hunt is under fire over NHS working hours and pay ((Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images))

A woman who spent seven hours in A&E with a broken back has blamed her experience on those running the NHS - insisting staff are doing their best.

Diane King, a former nurse from Worcester, waited around seven hours at Worcestershire Royal Hospital’s A&E department before an X-ray confirmed she had broken three vertebrae.

King told the Worcester News that she didn’t blame the staff who she said were “trying the best they could," instead pointing the finger at understaffing and lack of support.

Her experience coincided with the busiest Sunday on record at Worcestershire Royal Hospital’s A&E department. And it comes as Jeremy Hunt faces increasing criticism from junior doctors and staff over plans to extend working hours and possibly cut pay.

This is what Ms King says:

"It was awful having to wait so long.”

"During that time I had nothing to eat and was incredibly uncomfortable. When I was on the ward, patients were pressing buttons to ask for help but nurses were just too busy to answer them. I was moved around wards and at one point there were two nurses to around 35 patients, it's disgusting. People weren't being washed because it was taking so long to give out drugs and food. It was horrendous.

"But I don't blame the staff at all. The nurses and doctors and healthcare assistants were all lovely and caring and trying to do the best they could, but they just don't have the support. You can see they are really trying to do their absolutely best, some are staying over their shift time to try to get everything done. They are under-staffed and don't have the support they desperately need. Agency workers could be brought in, but surely it makes more sense in terms of money to just hire more permanent staff.

"At one point I was left sitting in a hard, wooden chair for four hours when I was waiting to go home six days later. One nurse came along and said there was no way I should have been left in the chair with my back injury, and that I should have been waiting on a bed or a stretcher. It's just awful and I wish the people in charge would realise what this is doing to their staff and the patients."

Jeremy Hunt has been criticised for wanting to extend the hours when doctors in England are paid the basic rate, from the current 7am to 7pm Monday to Friday, to 7am to 10pm Monday to Saturday.

A spokesman for Worcestershire Royal Hospital apologised for King’s treatment saying: “We strive to provide the very best care to every patient in our hospitals and we are sorry to hear that this was not achieved on this occasion.”

“Unfortunately our A&E departments continue to be extremely busy at the moment.” He told the Worcester News.