Rod Gray waiting in A&E on Friday afternoon
Ipswich: Why was a war hero treated like this?
BY LIZZIE PARRY
health reporter
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
4:14 PM
SITTING in his pyjamas and covered in blood, a 94-year-old war hero was left waiting in a wheelchair at Ipswich Hospital’s emergency department, for five hours his angry family has told The Star.
We will investigate - hospital’s pledge
A hospital spokeswoman said Mr Gray’s case will be thoroughly investigated.
Jan Ingle, said: “We are very concerned at this picture of care and we will look into what happened very carefully because it falls below the standards of care we want to provide.
“The emergency department was exceptionally busy on Friday afternoon and we had to see people according to their clinical priority and so it could well be the case Mr Gray waited longer than we would want anyone to wait.
“In these circumstances patients have to be seen according to clinical priority.
“We would urge Mr Gray’s relatives to get in contact, we would like the opportunity to explain what happened.
“It is not a normal picture but we want to learn from this.”
Mr Gray, who served in the far east for the Suffolk Regiment during the Second World War, split his head open after falling at home in Renfrew Road on Friday afternoon.
After being taken by ambulance to the hospital, he was seen by a nurse but then left in the public waiting area, wearing just his pyjamas and dressing gown.
Until his stepson Carl Puiy and stepdaughter Sandra Murty arrived, the war veteran was left alone, desperate for the toilet and in distress.
It is understood Mr Gray, who was awarded a Burma Star for serving in the Second World War, was only moved to a public area when an emergency case came into the department during an “exceptionally busy” period.
Mr Puiy, a retired police officer with Suffolk police, told The Star: “He was on his own with pyjamas and a dressing gown on.
“It was not very dignified, there was blood all over him, they hadn’t even cleaned him up.
“We asked what was going on and were told he needed to see a doctor.
“He was asking to go home because he wanted to lie down, he was so uncomfortable and said he felt humiliated.
“At 8.20pm we were told he was next to be seen.
“I do understand they were very busy and had emergency cases to see but the problem seemed to be administrative staff on the front desk who didn’t seem to be doing anything to check if a doctor could see my 94-year-old stepfather.
“By 10pm he still hadn’t been seen. We had to take him home, he was so distressed and uncomfortable, all he wanted to do was lie down.
“When we lifted him out of the wheelchair his legs had gone numb and they gave way from under him.
“I am absolutely fuming, I understand all the pressures they must face in such a busy department.
“But I have worked in the public sector myself and I can’t believe a 94-year-old man could be left in a wheelchair in his pyjamas.
“It is a complete lack of dignity for someone who has fought for his country.
“They couldn’t even find him somewhere to lie down and it seems the NHS is so inflexible that they couldn’t get a doctor from the out-of-hours service to see him. “It is a very basic lack of care and awareness.”
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6 comments
The fault is with Admin staff ?? Surely if he has been seen by the triage nurses and injury was not deemed as serious as other cases in the A&E dept at the time that's their decision just seems unlucky that the gentleman was there at one of the busiest periods known :(
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Gasman
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
its not just hospitals is it , we for get what our grandads and gran mothers did for us . disgusting this really is .
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Lee mundy
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Last wednesday i was taken to ipswich a&e by ambulance where i spent about 12 hours on a trolly as there were no beds available then discharged with medication which took the pharmacy 2 hours to dispence only to get the dosage wrong twice,so eventually leaving the hospital 15 hours after being admitted,with no signs of a bed becomming available.
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janey3556
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Apologies for my garbled post below. The beauty of "cut & paste"!
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england1770
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
I have to say that in my experience Ipswich's Obviously this is shocking, though personally I have found the A&E service to be very good. That said the after care, (or rather the lack of after care) from the nurses following major surgery at Ipswich hospital would be the area I think needs in depth investigation,
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england1770
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
That is no way to treat a 94 year old man with an injury to his head. Ipswich Hospital should be ashamed of themselves.
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disappointed
Tuesday, March 12, 2013