A mother-of-two died after collapsing in the middle of a crowded A&E department.
The 39-year-old suffered a fatal haemorrhage. She had been waiting for at least seven hours at Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham.
Staff of the A&E department said they were “shocked” and suggested the long waiting times at the department may have contributed to her death, reported LBC. She first attended the hospital on January 19 complaining of a severe headache.
She was triaged and observed three times by nurses. Her case was escalated, but was found unconscious under a coat before a doctor could see her.
When she was finally called up, she failed to respond multiple times. Staff assumed she had left due to the duration of her wait.
She died on January 22, a few days after she had been transferred to intensive care.
Staff had suggested the long wait may have contributed to her death.
A source with knowledge of the hospital claimed that the A&E department can have as many as 80 patients waiting at any one time and that wait times can be as long as 14 hours.
Nottingham University Hospitals, which operates the hospital, said it had started an investigation into her care.
Dr Keith Girling, Medical Director at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust said: “I offer my sincere condolences to the family at this difficult time. An investigation, which will involve the family, will now take place and until this has been concluded, we are unable to comment further.”
Former NHS trust chairman Roy Lilley told LBC that the case is likely to be “escalated”.
He added: “What will happen now is that the medical director will start an internal inquiry. My guess is they will also bring in an independent doctor from another hospital or maybe one of the royal colleges to look at the processes and protocols to see what happened.
“It will be escalated. It is a reportable event. It will go forward to NHS England and they may well want a further independent inquiry. On top of that, the woman will be subject to a coroner’s inquiry.”
Figures released on Thursday showed that the number of patients waiting for more than 12 hours in England rose by almost 25 percent in January.
