NURSES encouraged emergency patients at Northampton General Hospital to complain in order to escalate the issue of overcrowding in A&E, a patient has claimed.
Kenneth Langwith took his 83-year-old father, also named Kenneth, to the hospital clinic with chest pains and he was immediately referred to the accident and emergency unit.
On arrival, he said the department was so busy that several paramedics were waiting in corridors with their patients until they were admitted or discharged by doctors.
Mr Langwith Jnr, from Cherry Lodge, Northampton said: “I was there for a good while and it seemed nobody was keeping an eye on him at all.
“I don’t blame the staff because they were clearly very busy but several of them came up and asked him the same basic questions.
“There were even paramedics taking blood samples for hospital staff.
“After I asked for a complaints form, several nurses and paramedics said they wished more people would make a formal complaint as it was the only way things would improve.”
The issue of overwhelmed A&E staff has been a problem for more than a year and the hospital has initiated many measures, including the ongoing expansion of the A&E department. NHS Northamptonshire this week also launched a hard-hitting TV advertisement to urge people to use the correct health services.
More than a third of patients in a recent survey at NGH and Kettering General Hospital admitted they had not consulted a GP before arriving at A&E, which NHS bosses believed would have resulted in many of them not attending.
NGH said yesterday that Mr Langwith Snr’s treatment happened on a Monday, traditionally the hospital’s busiest day.
A spokesman said: “We have acknowledged the complaint and it is in the process of being investigated so we can provide a response.
“The extent of recent publicity highlighting the pressures on A&E departments here in Northampton and elsewhere has left little room for doubt that A&E can become extremely busy at times.
“Staff at Northampton General Hospital are doing all they can, working together with the ambulance service to ensure that A&E patients are treated in a safe and timely way.”
source: northamptonchron.co.uk
No comments:
Post a Comment