Woman, 22, in agonising pain forced to use coat as pillow on floor of A&E for five hours as she waited for a bed
A woman used a coat as a pillow as she lay on the floor of A&E in agonising pain for five hours as there were no beds available.
Kyra Dew, suffers from Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and was rushed to hospital last week after collapsing at home while she recovered from an operation.
The 22-year-old, from Leominster, Herefordshire, started suffering stabbing pains on 10 January and mum Sandra drove her to Hereford County Hospital.
She was given a dose of oral morphine at 2pm, but Kyra’s pain became unbearable around 90 minutes later.
However, she was forced to lie on the floor of the waiting room with a hospital blanket draped over her as she waited for a bed to become available.
She was finally moved onto a ward at 7.15pm – more than five hours after she arrived at A&E.
Kyra’s mother Sandra, 59, said: “When Kyra starts suffering pain she shakes with pain.
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“There was no beds or trollies so she could only lie down on the floor and the receptionist got some bedding and coats and made her comfortable.
“Unfortunately due to getting used to the Tramadol and oral morphine, A&E is the only option most months.
“The staff were brilliant and were running around like mad.”
Kyra’s experience at A&E come in the middle of the NHS winter crisis, while new figures show 5.7% of all patients in Scotland’s A&E units – 1,449 people – spent more than eight hours there, compared to 1,156 who had to wait this long in the last week of December 2017.
Meanwhile the number of patients in A&E for more than 12 hours in the first week of January 2018 rose from 272 the previous week to 470.
Hospital A&E departments cared for 25,280 patients in the first week of the year, according to official figures.
Kyra’s mum Sandra believes recent cuts meant the A&E department at Hereford County Hospital meant a longer waiting time for her daughter.
She added: “The closure of the Asda Walk-in centre meant that people were coming into A&E with cut fingers and bruises on their heads when before they would have gone elsewhere to get assessed.
“When a doctor came to see her there were other buzzers going off and he was working after his shift had finished. I do feel for the staff as this is down to the Government cut-backs.
“They simply don’t have the resources to cope. Seeing Kyra forced to lie on the floor of A&E for hours was heart-breaking.”
A spokesman for Hereford County Hospital said: “Unfortunately, our Emergency Department was experiencing high demand at this time. Wye Vally NHS Trust has experienced unprecedented pressure on its services in recent weeks. This pressure is unrelenting.
“These winter pressures have been well documented in the media and, like other NHS Trusts, WVT has plans to help it cope with these extra demands on its services.
“Patients are triaged within the Emergency Department to ensure they are seen and treated according to their clinical need.
“In a country with many older people we see many very sick, elderly and frail patients who need to be prioritised and treated urgently. This can lead to less serious patient waiting longer for treatment.
“We apologies to those patients who have had to wait longer than they have expected. While we can’t comment on individual patients, it would be true to say that we are committed to ensuring that every patient who comes through our doors receives the best possible care we can give them.
“Our dedicated team of staff in the Emergency Department has been working under enormous pressure for several weeks and we would like to pay tribute to their professionalism and the compassionate care they give our patients.”
Kyra was given a scan and released the day after she was admitted into hospital.
