‘It’s chaos in A&E’: Bretton man spends 22 hours in queues for A&E at Peterborough City Hospital

A Peterborough man, who waited in queues for over 22 hours at Peterborough City Hospital has described his experience as “horrific and humiliating”.

Mike Pickering, from Bretton, was admitted to A&E by a district nurse after suffering gangrene in his foot.

He said he spent over three hours in the back of ambulance in a queue at the hospital, before waiting a further three hours in an A&E waiting room to be assessed.

He claims he then spent eight hours in a hospital corridor waiting for a bed at the hospital’s A&E minor injuries unit, before being put through another eight-hour wait to be transferred to a bed on a ward.

North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust – the trust which runs Peterborough City Hospital – said it is doing “all it can” to reduce waiting times in the emergency department by “redeploying more staff to support the teams on duty”.

"It’s absolute chaos in A&E,” Mike, who was admitted to Peterborough City Hospital on November 4, 2022, and is now being cared for at Peterborough City Care Centre, in Thorpe Road, said.

“It was horrific. On a scale from 1-10 the pain was a 20 – I can’t think of anything worse than what I went through.”

It comes as hospitals run by the North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust were the second busiest in the country between December 26 and January 1, 2023, according to official NHS England figures.

A total of 96.9 per cent of the 902 beds at North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust hospitals were occupied within this period – above the national average.

"The whole experience was horrific and humiliating,” Mike added.

“I had to ring a bell when I needed something, like to go to the toilet, when I was in bed at A&E. It would take the nurses over half an hour to come.

"I know I’m not the only one, and there are people who have waited much longer than me. Something needs to be done because the NHS is severely understaffed.”

Jo Bennis, chief nurse for North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust, said that temporary corridor care is “not ideal” and the Trust always endeavours to get patients in beds “as soon as possible”.

"We are doing all we can to reduce waiting times in our emergency department by redeploying more staff to support the teams on duty,” she said.

“Patient safety remains a priority and we strive to ensure that all patients receive the best possible care in our hospitals. We are seeing an increase in the number of attendances to our emergency departments.

“Whilst we care for more people, the safety of patients remains an absolute priority. We encourage our local community to use NHS 111 for advice on where to access the most appropriate treatment for their healthcare needs before they come to hospital.

“On occasions, suitable patients may encounter temporary corridor care. Whilst this is not ideal, we aim to get patients in a bed as soon as possible.”