'My mum lost her dignity in 60 hour A&E wait'

The son of an 88-year-old woman who has been stuck in A&E for more than 60 hours said she had been stripped of her dignity.

Maureen Harman was taken to Wigan Infirmary in Greater Manchester on Monday evening, but as of Thursday afternoon had still not been admitted to a ward.

Her son, Nick Harman, told the BBC that for most of that time his mother had been lying on a trolley in a corridor along with many other patients.

Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (WWL) apologised for the long waits and said it had been "extremely busy".

Mr Harman, 56, said: "She's sat on her bed, she's getting uncomfortable, there's people in corridors, there's people coming in escorted by police, drug addicts and things.

"Your dignity is just gone. You're doing things in the corridor, with people who are strangers."

Mr Harman stressed the staff "have been brilliant" but that the scene in A&E had resembled a "warzone".

On Wednesday BBC North West reported nearly 39,000 patients spent more than a day in the region's emergency departments because there were no hospital beds for them.

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Source: BBC News, 14 February 2025

Related reading on the hub:

Related reading on the hub:

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• How corridor care in the NHS is affecting safety culture: A blog by Claire Cox
• A nurse's response to the NHSE guidance on their principles for providing safe and good quality care in temporary escalation spaces