Family 'horrified' over granddad's four-day hospital bed wait

The family of a 72-year-old man who spent several days sitting in a chair in Altnagelvin Hospital's Emergency Department while waiting for a bed said they had been left feeling "helpless and horrified."

Mike Kelly was taken by ambulance to the Londonderry hospital on 6 September with an infection in his foot and after having an angina attack at home.

His granddaughter Enya Kelly said he sat in a chair in an emergency department hallway for four days, was in "excruciating pain" and was unable to get any sleep.

The Western Health and Social Care Trust (WHSCT) has apologised to patients who have been facing long waits at the hospital.

It said similar pressures were being experienced across Northern Ireland's health trusts, and work was ongoing to "manage demand and maintain patient flow".

Staff, the trust added, were continuing to "work tirelessly in extremely challenging circumstances."

Health Minister Robbie Butler said he was determined to cut emergency department (ED) waiting times that were "far too long" but said there was "no quick fix".

He said he supported capital projects such as redeveloping Altnagelvin's ED but that would "depend on the Department of Health capital allocation from the budget process".

Enya told BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today programme her grandfather was eventually allocated a bed last Wednesday.

Before that, she said he "was sat in a chair in a hallway".

"He wasn't in a room or anything, he was just in a busy hallway as people ran around," she said.

"The staff were amazing over there. The nurses were amazing. They're just incredibly overworked."

She said the family were upset and angry over her grandfather's ordeal.

"He was in a lot of pain and was getting quite upset because of a lack of sleep. My granddad had become delirious," she said.

"It got to the point where it's like you're almost angry because you just want the best, you just want them to be able to get help and you think you're somewhere that you can get help."

She said her grandfather's experience when he was in such a vulnerable position showed that change was desperately needed in the system.

Other patients, she said, were without a room in the treatment area and there was not enough space in the waiting room for people awaiting admission.

She said: "You're able to look around and you are just sort of going, what the hell's going on here?

"We just need funding, they have under-funded it for years."

Enya said scores of people had come forward with similar experiences after she posted about her grandfather's time in the hospital on social media.

Butler said the lack of an agreed budget at Stormont was "a matter of deep regret".

"I'm determined to reduce waiting times in our emergency departments and improve the experience for patients across Northern Ireland," he said.

"My long-term vision involves diverting patients to the most appropriate care pathways first time, to provide patients with the best care possible."

That vision, he said, included an increase in day care clinics and "strengthening community services like Hospital at Home".