Woman in Ipswich Hospital waited four days to see doctor

A woman who went into a hospital's emergency department with stomach pain said she was put in a bed in the maternity ward and waited four days before she saw a doctor.

Michelle Emmerson-Grey said she eventually saw a doctor after she got in touch with Ipswich Hospital's chief executive on Twitter.

She said the NHS was "on its knees".

Nick Hulme, the chief executive of Ipswich Hospital, has apologised and said the situation was "unacceptable".

He recently said a combination of Covid and flu cases had created an "unprecedented twindemic".

Ms Emmerson-Grey, from Coddenham, said she had "sharp, stabbing pains" in her stomach on New Year's Eve and "knew it was serious".

The 44-year-old called 111 and was advised to go to the accident and emergency department.

Ms Emmerson-Grey said she was initially sent home with a "stomach bug" but she returned two hours later "absolutely screaming in pain".

After waiting 32 hours for a bed, she still had not seen a doctor by the morning of 4 January.

Ms Emmerson-Grey said by that time she had "just had enough".

"To go four days without seeing a doctor and still be in agony was ludicrous," she said.

Ms Emmerson-Grey tweeted Mr Hulme, saying: "I've been with you since Saturday. I'm on a ward and still not seen a doctor! Apparently the nurses can't get anyone to come!"

She said Mr Hulme replied "straight away" and after an email exchange, a doctor appeared with 20 minutes.

She said she was still in hospital, waiting for a scan, but could "not fault the care" she had received and described the nurses as "brilliant".

"They're literally run off their feet, but doing an amazing job and smiling and being really kind to everybody," she said.

But Ms Emmerson-Grey said she felt there was something in the system that was "not working".

Mr Hulme said Ms Emmerson-Grey's experience was "not representative for the vast majority of patients".

He said the matter would be investigated to prevent it from happening again.

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