Man in 'horrendous' A&E wait after heart attack

A man has recalled his "horrendous" hours-long wait at A&E when he attended this winter following a heart attack.

Steven Richardson, 68, said his wife Yasmin took him to Worcestershire Royal Hospital after being told the wait for an ambulance could be several hours.

But he said once at the site he was left "in terrible pain for so long" until a doctor "on his way home" spotted him struggling in a busy waiting room.

The hospital trust apologised for the situation, while West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) said it had been unable to dispatch an ambulance immediately "due to hospital handover delays".

Mr Richardson, from Droitwich, Worcestershire, had a burning feeling in his chest when he went to bed at about 23:45 GMT on 29 November.

"It got worse – I was clammy and couldn't get comfortable," he said.

"My wife said 'you're having a heart attack'. I said 'don't be daft' but she said 'you've got the symptoms'."

After phoning 999 and being warned about the delay, they drove to hospital where an electrocardiogram (ECG) test was carried out soon after arriving.

But Mr Richardson said he was then sent back in pain to a packed waiting room, and his wife returned home.

At one point, he said, he was told "this is reflux" before being given two paracetamol tablets.

Mr Richardson explained: "By 6am I couldn't take any more so I called my wife to come and get me, and I went to tell them 'I'm going home'.

"I thought 'if something's going to happen to me, I'd rather be at home'.

"Then the first doctor I'd seen all night walked by. He said 'are you all right sir'?"

"He asked the others what was going on and said I was clearly struggling.

"Within three minutes he'd diagnosed me and I was on my way to the resus ward. I'd been in terrible pain for so long."

Mr Richardson said he went on to have an angiogram and stent fitted.

"They were good as gold once I was [on the ward]," he said.

"But my A&E experience, I wouldn't wish that on anyone. It was horrendous – a real eye-opener."

His wife added: "We just owe the doctor who was walking through A&E on his way home a big thank you.

"He knew just by looking at my husband what was wrong."

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust (WAH) has reported "extreme pressures" recently and in December apologised for delays at its A&Es in Worcester and Redditch.

Stephen Collman, managing director, said while the trust "would not comment publicly on detailed aspects of a patient's treatment, we are sorry to hear about Mr Richardson's experience of care in our hospital".

He added anyone with concerns about their hospital experience should contact its Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS).

WMAS said it received a call to Mr Richardson at 01:14 GMT on 30 November.

"Unfortunately, due to hospital handover delays, we did not have any vehicles to dispatch immediately and the caller was advised it may be a number of hours before one was available.

"The caller then confirmed they were able and happy to take the patient to hospital themselves and we were stood down."

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