A 70-year-old woman has died just days after waiting in a hopsital corridor for 48 hours – and her family have blammed the closure of Wycombe A&E for the poor treatment she reportedly received.
Angela Ward, 70, died in a hospice after spending hours in the corridor of an emergency department at Stoke Mandeville where she was 'coughing up blood' as she battled cancer, her family have said.
Following her death, her daughter Sam Maugham has described her treatment as “awful” and wishes the A&E department at High Wycombe Hospital never closed.
The NHS Trust that runs the hospital has sent their condolences to the family and apologised for 'not delivering the outstanding care the staff strive to provide'.
Speaking to The Free Press, Sam said: "She was in the corridor until Wednesday night then moved to a make shift ward in a side room, until later that evening when she was moved to a proper ward.
"It was 48 hours and she was told in the corridor that she was dying, so there was no privacy at all."
Sam said that Angela, from Stokenchurch, was initially admitted to hospital on Monday, January 30. She was taken by ambulance to Stoke Mandeville Hospital accident and emergency department.
After being admitted with Angela "coughing up blood”, she was reportedly placed on a bed in the corridor as there were no wards available.
While in the corridor, Sam said her mum asked the nurses several times to be moved back up the bed as she felt 'uncomfortable' having slipped down.
Angela was eventually diagnosed on Thursday, February 2, with five different types of cancer in her lung, liver, bowels, bladder and pancreas.
On Saturday, February 4, she was moved to a hospice and passed away later than afternoon at 4pm.
Samantha described the care her mum received a the emergency department as 'awful'.
She said: "If Wycombe were still open there would be adequate room for people in need. Stoke Mandeville cannot support the amount of patients they recieve."
Despite the experience, Sam doesn't blame the nurses.
"I’m not blaming the nurses for this they are over stretched and under paid," she added.
"I’m purely blaming this on Wycombe A & E closing and Stoke Mandeville not being able to cope."
Karen Bonner, Chief Nurse of Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, said: “We would like to extend our sincere condolences to the patient’s family.
"Whist this is an extremely busy time for the NHS as a whole, with unprecedented demand, we are very sorry that on this occasion we have not delivered the outstanding care we strive to provide.
"We would welcome the opportunity to meet with the family to discuss any concerns they have about her care.”
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