Granddaughter of severely ill Balderton woman left on hospital trolley for 11 hours says state of NHS is shocking

A woman whose severely ill grandmother was left on a hospital trolley for 11 hours says the state of the NHS is shocking.

Marie Green, 75, of Balderton, was referred to Newark Hospital by her GP on Monday last week after results of an MRI discovered swelling on her brain.

Newark Hospital said it couldn’t take her and that Mrs Green should be sent to King’s Mill Hospital where — despite the GP referral — she was left slumped on a trolley for hours on end because staff couldn’t find her a proper hospital bed.

Granddaughter Emily Nellist said she was told by medical professionals her grandmother’s condition could easily have worsened had she been on the trolley any longer — possibly even resulting in seizures and permanent damage.

“We went to the GP because she was very confused all of a sudden,” said Emily.

“She was recently offered a brain scan and, when the results of that came, the GP said she needed to be admitted to hospital because of the swelling.

“We initially took her to urgent care at Newark on Monday and they said she needed to go to King’s Mill, so we did, but she didn’t get a bed until around 5am on the Tuesday.

“They said if she was left any longer she would have been having seizures and the effects may not be reversible — so it could have turned out a lot worse.”

Mrs Green used to be a lively lady who within a few weeks had almost no idea, says Emily.

She said: “It is of course extremely upsetting to see my grandmother in that way.

“My mum is upset and angry and exhausted over it all as she had to stay awake with my grandmother, her mum, for those 11 hours waiting. She was told she’d be classed as leaving and not able to come back if she went to get some water.

“I am grateful for the NHS and the doctors and nurses but it is shocking to see the state it is in — especially with something this serious, which ultimately could happen [to my grandmother] again.

“She is really ill and should not have been just left there, 11 hours is disgusting.”

Mrs Green is still in hospital and expected to remain there for some weeks.

Emily says she is still very confused and unaware of what is happening around her, with doctors saying Mrs Green will not likely remember anything during this period.

Dale Travis, head of operations at Sherwood Forest Hospitals, said: “Demand remains very high for NHS services across the country right now and colleagues at Sherwood Forest Hospitals continue to work hard to ensure that patients get the treatment they need as quickly as possible, which involves prioritising patients based on their clinical need following assessment.

“We would like to apologise to Ms Green, her family and the small number of other patients who had to wait longer than any of us would have liked to access the care they needed during what was a particularly busy time.”