An 80-year-old war widow spent 14 hours on a trolley in the casualty department of Oldchurch Hospital, Romford, waiting for assessment and a bed.

Now despite praising the medical staff for their "skill and care", Mrs Ruth State has condemned the conditions she endured both in casualty and once she got on a ward as "third world".

Mrs State, of St Charles Road, Brentwood, spoke out on Monday, a week after being discharged and in the same week as the Help the Aged charity launched their new Dignity on the Ward campaign aimed at better care for older patients.

Long-term asthmatic, Mrs State, who was taken to Oldchurch suffering from 'flu on New Year's Eve, also hit out at the decision to base a new hospital at Romford rather than Harold Wood.

She said: "I wish Health Minister, Frank Dobson, and those responsible could have witnessed the long wait, the discomfort, the fear while waiting for a bed and how the nursing staff had to cope with an almost impossible situtation.

"Harold Wood Hospital is a lifeline to this area. I was lucky this time, a long wait for an ambulance, a journey on congested roads and a long wait in casualty could have different consequences. People can die because of the delay, perhaps already have.

"The ambulance arrived at Oldchurch at 10pm where we joined a queue of ambulances and patients. I was amazed that until a trolley and a space can be found the ambulances remain idle outside.

"I spent 14 hours on a trolley. There were two patients to every cubicle and still a queue in the corridors. It was like a third world country.

"At lunch time the next day I was found a bed on a ward but my buttocks and shoulders were so sore from being on a trolley so long I was put on a special mattress which was bliss.

"I was treated with skill and care at all times but how the staff coped I just don't know. I saw things I will never forget."

Director of Nursing for Havering Hospitals NHS Trust, Rosemary Raeburn-Smith, said: "Mrs State was brought to A and E on the busiest night we have had so far this winter. We admitted twice the number of patients we would expect at this time of year.

"Mrs State was initially assessed at 11.17pm and she remained in A and E while further investigations were carried out.

"During this time she received medication from staff and at 7.30am the investigations were complete and it was decided she needed to be admitted. She was moved to a bed at 12.30pm.

"We are doing everything we can to keep waits at A and E to a minimum but a sudden, unexpected increase in the number of patients coming into hospital inevitably means longer waits.

"Even at our busiest times we have kept the wait for a bed to a maximum of four to five hours.

"We work closely with the London Ambulance Service and do all we can to ensure ambulances bring patients straight into the department without delay. However this can be difficult on the busiest occasions."

Back home: Mrs State recovers in comfort.

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