Brighton crash victim’s horror at Royal Sussex corridor care
She told The Argus about the “horrific and shocking” experience she had at the major injuries department of the Royal Sussex County Hospital’s A&E department in Brighton[1]. At one point during her stay earlier this month, her bed was just outside the resuscitation room . “I heard the shock used and then the staff had to get sheets from the bedding cupboard and had to make a pathway while holding sheets to remove this person,” she said.
“I can only assume it was a body they were taking away.” A corridor full of beds (Image: Submitted) She was told by a health[2] care assistant that patients had been in the corridor for two days.
“When the paramedics wheeled me in, one of them recognised a stroke patient they had brought in the night before who was still in the corridor,” she said. Pictures she has shared with The Argus show corridors full of beds. “It was just disgusting,” she said.
At one point, she was taken to have an X ray and said her bed could barely fit past all the other trolleys in the corridor. “It was awful and I am so thankful I didn’t stay long,” she said. “Elderly patients had been there for two days in the corridor. “You’d think there had been a terrorist attack in Brighton.”
Another busy corridor at the A&E (Image: Submitted) The patient stressed that the staff she encountered were “brilliant”. “I don’t want to bad mouth the staff at all – the doctors were fantastic.
“Given the situation they were amazing. But something has to be done.” The Argus put this to University Hospitals Sussex NHS Trust, the trust in charge of the Royal Sussex, which said it could not comment on individual cases.
A spokesman for the trust added: “Our emergency department continues to be very busy and pressured, especially at this time of year and during this latest and longest period of industrial action. Throughout this, our incredible staff are working extremely hard to treat and care for patients, and do remarkable things every day. “The message to the public is simple – if you genuinely need emergency care, then A&E remains the best place for you to go.
If you need help or advice and it isn’t an emergency, there are other places to go which are better – and often quicker – options for you.
“The next few months will continue to be challenging, but we know the issues we face, and we are doing everything we can to protect patient care and support our staff.”