A former nurse described Lincoln County Hospital’s A&E ward as ‘a very dangerous place’ with ‘patients on the floor holding their heads in their hands’ after a recent frustrating experience.
The 65-year-old disabled woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said Lincolnite she was a nurse in Lincolnshire for over 40 years from 1975, including Lincoln County Hospital, and is ‘ashamed’ she ever worked there because ‘it’s so terrible’ .
The former nurse had been unable to keep solid food down for about three hours before calling an ambulance, and she was lit blue at Lincoln A&E, where she arrived early in the evening of Saturday October 15 .
The woman, who is also the subject of separate investigations on Cancer Pathway 2/52, said she was still vomiting when she walked into A&E, and soon after saw a triage nurse who took his blood pressure.
She said she was then put in a room alone with nothing to drink and “luckily I had water with me”, but felt ignored and was left “with many bowls of vomit”.
The patient said she was “left unattended for hours” and “no one checked on me once I passed the triage nurse”.
The frustrated woman said it was not until she ventured out of the room with her mobility aid, which she needs to walk, in the wee hours of the morning, that she was asked who she was and where she was from, before she was given directions to the bathroom. She believes that there was “a complete absence of duty of care”.
She also claims that she was not examined by a doctor, that she did not have IV fluids and that she did not receive a sip of water, and that she became more plus dehydrated, which she thinks the scan showed.
After returning to the room where she had previously been placed alone, the patient said a health care assistant came to see her later around 7 a.m. to insert a cannula and draw blood.
She was then taken to the Surgical Emergency Admitting Unit (SEAU), but there were no beds available. The patient claims she then waited for permission to be given for a “bay” to be opened and waited on a cart in the hallway of the ward.
The patient is then installed on the side of the bed, but does not want to get into it because she has difficulty lying down comfortably because of her hip.
A CT scan was then ordered for her, which she thinks she had around 3pm and she was also weighed and her blood pressure was taken.
Notes from a doctor who saw the patient say that ‘she was keen to go home, against medical advice and her capacity was assessed’ and said: ‘I didn’t think it was safe for her to stay there longer. She left the hospital around 5:40 p.m. on Sunday, October 16.
The former nurse said: ‘Lincoln County Hospital A&E is a very dangerous place. Patients on the ground, their heads in their hands.
“I never want to go back to this department again. It would kill me, for lack of attention, consideration and total lack of professionalism.
Lincolnite contacted United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust.
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Lincoln County Hospital, said its emergency services remain extremely busy and “our teams are doing everything they can to care for our patients”.
A hospital spokesperson said: “Unfortunately, we are unable to comment on individual cases.
“However, we invite the patient to contact us directly if there is anything she would like to discuss with us regarding the care she received at our hospital.
“As in many areas, our emergency departments remain extremely busy. We are sorry for the delays, but our teams are doing everything they can to care for our patients.”
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