Woman on drip forced to lay on chairs for five hours at overcrowded hospital

A mum has revealed how her daughter was left lying on chairs for five hours on a drip because of bed shortages at her local hospital.

Ella Jackson, 27, was pictured being treated for a suspected kidney infection on a makeshift bed at the William Harvey Hospital in Kent.

Her mum Felicity Sims posted the image on Twitter in response to a tweet about Jack Williment-Barr, who was forced to sleep on the floor as he waited in A&E.

Mrs Sims told Kent Live : "We arrived at the William Harvey at 2pm.

"They found us a bed at midnight. They treated my daughter with a drip at about 5pm but they first of all didn’t even have a chair.

Ella went to hospital on her 27th birthday (Kent Live WS)

"I managed to find a chair in the family room and then somebody else brought me another one.

"We improvised a bed and my daughter then spent five hours on a pair of chairs in the William Harvey."

"It was her birthday, so the nurses very kindly blew up a pair of surgical gloves, put a smiley face on it and attached it to her drip.

"As I say, at midnight they finally found a bed for her and moved her on to the ward."

Ella's mum said she had to improvise a bed using chairs because the A&E department was so busy (@frandolph1/Twitter)

She continued: "I don’t know if the NHS, the way it’s structured at the moment, is viable.

"It’s desperately short of funding and the impression I got at the William Harvey was that the demoralised work force, there was just almost a pity compassion.

"Everyone was just so tired of spending nine years apologising."

Mrs Sims is very concerned that rising housing demands in the area are going to ramp up pressure on a hospital already at breaking point.

A spokesman for East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust said: “We apologise that we were unable to provide a more comfortable environment for Ella to wait for a bed.

The hospital has apologised for being unable to provide a bed (Kent Live WS)

“Like hospitals elsewhere in the country, our hospitals can get very busy, caring for a high number of patients.

“If our emergency department becomes full, staff continue to regularly monitor waiting patients’ safety and comfort, and work hard to control any pain and meet their care needs.

“We're asking people to use the most appropriate service if they do need medical help and to keep A&E for emergencies.

"If you're not sure what to do, call 111 or go to NHS111 online to find the most suitable NHS service.

"The Waitless app also tells you about local minor injury units and their waiting times.”