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

Maureen Harman has spent most of her 60 hour wait on a trolley in a corridor at Wigan Infirmary

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."

Nick Harman said he was worried both about his mother's condition and the loss of her dignity

He said retired dinner lady Ms Harman, who lives in Wigan, had been jaundiced - where the skin takes on a yellowish colour - for around a week and was taken to A&E on the orders of her "very concerned" GP.

Mr Harman said she was awaiting a scan to see what was causing her jaundice.

He said he was shocked on Monday evening to be told that wait times for a bed were likely to exceed 49 hours.

"It's unacceptable this day and age in Britain," he said.

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.

Maureen Harman has been "struggling" with her uncomfortable wait in A&E her son said.

Of those patients, more than 1,000 waited longer than three days, often spending much of that time on a trolley in the corridor.

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) has warned that nationally, the situation could be costing thousands of lives.

NHS England North West Medical Director Dr Michael Gregory said demand had risen in every part of the NHS in recent years, leading to ongoing pressure, particularly in the winter months.

Mr Harman said: "You have to deal with the illness and worrying about your mother plus the dignity side of things as well."

WWL said its staff were doing "everything we can to keep our patients safe and meet the demands of all the patients who are currently attending our emergency department".