Nurse says mum's 16-hour Southend Hospital A&E wait was 'awful'

A nurse said an A&E department was "absolutely awful" after her mum was left without food or water for 16 hours while waiting for a bed.

Becky Higgs took her 70-year-old mum Marilyn to Southend Hospital as she was struggling to walk with terrible pain from an osteoarthritis infection.

She remained sat in a wheelchair for 16 hours and was given just one dose of painkillers.

The hospital said the incident "shouldn't have occurred".

The nurse, who used to work at the hospital, and now works for a private clinic, told BBC Essex: "My mum called me at the 16 hour point of her being sat in a wheelchair.

"She hadn't been offered a drink, she hadn't been offered to be taken to the toilet, she hadn't been offered any food and she had only had that one dose of pain relief.

"It's absolutely heart-breaking to see what is happening in there."

Ms Higgs, 42, from Southend said at one point the family used a sick bowl as a pillow to prop her mother up and she did not have any pain relief for 10 hours.

She continued: "There were people laying on the floor with their dressing gowns under their heads in excruciating pain.

"It was absolutely awful. We understand there's no beds, but what about basic human care, why wasn't my mum offered a drink? Why wasn't my mum offered food? Why wasn't she taken to the toilet? It cannot go on anymore."

Her mother has since returned home, but needs knee replacement surgery.

Ms Higgs added: "The basic care of our elderly, our vulnerable, and people like you and me is being missed and that will lead to them being more and more unwell and then more pressure on the NHS."

Andrew Pike, chief operating officer at Southend Hospital, responded to details of the case during a people's scrutiny committee meeting at Southend City Council.

He said: "Every patient in the emergency department should be regularly checked on. We should be supplying food and support for patients who are there for a long time.

"The fact that this patient was there for 10 hours [without pain relief] and was elderly and was left sitting there should not have happened, so I'm very sorry to hear that and that's not something we should tolerate.

"It shouldn't have occurred."