QA Hospital: 93-year-old had 14-hour wait in ambulance

Ms Meredith: "There were at least 19 ambulances waiting with patients to go into A&E"

A 93-year-old man was forced to wait in an ambulance for more than 14 hours due to emergency department delays.

The patient was taken to hospital at 12:00 GMT on Monday and was not seen until 03.20 on Tuesday.

His daughter, Fiona Meredith, said: "My father is seriously ill and I'm worried he will die."

Portsmouth's Queen Alexandra Hospital said: "We are very sorry that our patients are experiencing long waits to access the care they need."

Ms Meredith explained that her 93-year old father, who lives in a care home, had been taken to hospital by ambulance due to an infection.

She told the BBC that he waited 11 hours in one ambulance, before he was transferred to another, as the first team of paramedics had worked two hours over their shift caring for him.

"Finally after more than 14 hours of waiting in a cold ambulance, my father was taken into the emergency department where he was admitted with suspected sepsis" she said.

She added: "Although he was admitted, he was still waiting in a corridor for a bed on a ward."

Extraordinary pressure

A spokesperson for Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust said: "We are seeing high numbers of unwell people attending our Emergency Department (ED) and the hospital is full.

"This means that we are seeing delays, for both patients arriving by ambulance and those walking into ED, that are much longer than our patients would expect."

The hospital has declared a critical incident as demand soars in its emergency department.

A critical incident is declared by an NHS trust when it is facing extraordinary pressure, to alert staff, bosses and patients that the hospital will not be able to function as usual.

The spokesperson said in a statement: "We are working closely with providers throughout the Hampshire and Isle of Wight system to prioritise patient safety for those who require admission for emergency care and creating space for them by safely discharging anyone who is ready to return home."

The hospital is urging families who have loved ones in hospital that are well enough to be discharged for "help to get them home in an appropriate time frame".

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