Patient's death in A&E corridor 'linked to poor care' - report

A report has revealed how "poor care" led to the death of a patient in an A&E corridor at an NHS hospital.

The Royal Blackburn Hospital said it saw overcrowding in its emergency department (ED) with an average of 30 patients being treated in the corridor.

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust (ELHT) said the hospital was "one of the busiest" in England.

Lord Russ Mclean, chairman of a local patients group said he was "devastated, but not surprised" by the report.

The patient's death was revealed in the papers for a March meeting of the trust board in a section on corporate risk, which also detailed a second death in the emergency department.

The hospital reported experiencing "increased overcrowding in emergency department (ED), with 30 patients on average on ED corridor, 14 patients in resus and 24 patients on the main hospital corridor".

The report went on to add: "The service has had two deaths in ED, one bathroom collapse and one on the corridor linked to poor care."

Trust chief executive Martin Hodgson said the hospital had "one of the busiest emergency departments in England".

"Unfortunately, when all the cubicles are full of patients, we don't have any choice but to use corridor space, it is not something any of us want to do.

"We cannot close the doors to those in need but when there is no other available space, it is our only option."

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he "could not publicly discuss individual cases", but said it was "undoubtedly the case" that staff were working under "significant pressure, in difficult circumstances".

Lord McLean, chairman of East Lancashire's Patient Voices Group said some of the stories he had heard about patients waiting in A&E "break my heart".

"Waiting on a hospital corridor, for NHS treatment in 2024 is not right in any civilised society."

He said he had been assured by Mr Hodgson that "no patient is left unattended", but said he was "devastated, but not surprised, to hear of the deaths".

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