Cancer patient's 31-hour 'cattle market' A&E wait

A cancer sufferer who says she faced a wait of 31 hours in A&E has compared the emergency department to "a cattle market".

Tracy Summerson, who had nausea and a fever, was eventually admitted to Lincoln County Hospital last week. Ms Summerson said there were more than 30 other patients who waited a similar amount of time.

The hospital said despite long waits, those who needed immediate care were "able to be seen and looked after".

Ms Summerson, from Scopwick near Metheringham, described the scene as "just crammed, you were like cattle in a market".

Ms Summerson, who has stage four malignant melanoma, said: "There was people coming with sick bowls being sick next to you.

"When you are immune-suppressed you're supposed to go in a side room out of germs way, but they needed all the rooms for consultations."

The family of an 83-year-old woman also contacted the BBC to say she waited more than 40 hours in a wheelchair in her nightdress after being taken to the hospital with a suspected brain bleed.

The trust added: "We continue to see an increasing demand on our urgent and emergency care services coupled with patients staying much longer in our hospitals than previously experienced."

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Source: BBC News, 1 August 2022