Royal Bolton Hospital: 77-year-old woman waited for bed for 12 hours

Barbara Firth, 77, was taken to the hospital on Thursday, February 1 after suffering with a heart murmur. 

However, after arriving at 9pm that night, Mrs Firth was not given a bed until around 9am the following day, although she was seen for testing during that time. 

Mrs Firth attended the hospital with her husband, Jack Firth, the former chairman of Healthwatch Bolton. 

Mr Firth said: "I want people to know how bad it was.

"She had to go to Royal Bolton Hospital by ambulance, it didn't take long to go in. 

"She had bloods done, they said what the results were and then said she had to have another done in five hours' time. In the meantime she had to sit in A&E on one of those chairs. 

"She was there all night, and she wasn't the only one. 

Barbara Firth (Image: Public)

"The lack of information to patients in there. There were only two nurses on duty, they had something like 60 patients in there." 

He added: "Something needs to be done to convey more information to patients. 

"I don't know what else they can do but people in their 70s were sat there, other people were there just as long as her, waiting for beds. 

"When she had been there for 12 hours a doctor came and said it would be another five before she could have a bed." 

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He added: "When she went into the A&E cubicle, she laid down on the bed, her legs were swollen up from sitting there."

That was at around "7-8am", but Mrs Firth was not offered a hospital bed until around "9am".

Mr Firth added: "We are not complaining about the treatment, it is just the time it takes, not knowing and sitting there. 

Royal Bolton Hospital A&E (Image: Google)

"She is 77, sat there in her dressing gown. 

"It's what they can do, doctors are working extremely hard, the doctor looked stressed by the time we were going home." 

He said: "The problem we have got is the hospital is not big enough. It is not big enough for the population, they closed the Royal Infirmary and tried to put two into one. 

"We need a new hospital. It's not fit for purpose, it is a Victorian building."

Mr Firth added that his wife is now feeling better and recovering at home.

In response, a spokesperson for Bolton NHS Foundation Trust said: "Please only attend our emergency department in a life or limb-threatening emergency.

"We're really busy, so if it's not an emergency, you could face waits of up to 11 hours to be seen by one of our doctors.

"You could find help for your condition sooner by visiting your local pharmacist, GP or using 111.nhs.uk for advice.

"For medical help outside of normal working hours you can use the GP out of hours service by contacting your GP surgery and following the instructions.

"You can also phone BARDOC directly on 0161 763 8940."