Worries for A&E staff after 15-hour wait in Shrewsbury

Pauline Dee went to Shrewsbury's A&E after experiencing chest pain

A woman in her 80s who had a 15-hour wait at A&E has said she worries for the staff working there.

Pauline Dee said she spent the night at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital after going in with chest pain.

She said based on her experience, she worried staff there would suffer "burnout" when the department became busier this winter.

The hospital trust has apologised for long waits, saying another 46 beds would be available in January.

Mrs Dee, who has served as a Shropshire councillor and as the mayor of Wem, explained she arrived with a friend at 13:00 GMT on Monday 21 November.

She said she had to spend most of her time sat on a chair, until a trolley-bed became available just before 05:00 GMT on the following morning.

After seeing a consultant that morning, she then had to stay until 14:35 GMT to collect her medication, finally leaving the hospital 25 hours after she arrived.

Despite her long stay, Mrs Dee said she kept herself amused playing puzzles on her phone and refused to blame the doctors and nurses.

She said: "The staff never stop, it isn't as if they're leaning up against a wall or anything, they are working all the time."

But she said many people were in worse shape than she was, adding a challenging issue for those individuals was "the not knowing what's happening".

Mrs Dee said she worried for the staff working in Shrewsbury's A&E department

Mrs Dee said she believed the system was "broken" and worried about the health of "hard-pressed" staff.

"Who is caring for those nurses and doctors?" she asked.

Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals Trust responded with an apology "to any patients who have experienced long waits for care".

It said the health system continued "to experience high levels of demand" which affected A&E waiting times.

It added it had been given £21.4m to increase winter bed capacity and an extra 46 beds would be "fully operational" at the start of 2024, with more beds becoming available later in the year.