Southend: Lengthy A&E waiting times raised by council
BBC By Christine Sexton
Local Democracy Reporter, Essex
An elderly woman endured a 10-hour wait in a wheelchair in A&E without water or pain relief, a council meeting was told.
Donna Richardson, a Labour councillor on Southend-on-Sea City Council, raised the issue about Southend Hospital.
She said the patient was "in a lot of pain" and unable to reach a toilet.
Andrew Pike, the hospital's chief operating officer, apologised, saying: "That's not something we should tolerate."
Ms Richardson asked the council's people scrutiny committee: "What process are you going to be implanting to try and help elderly patients in A&E?"
Mr Pike, from the Mid and South Essex Hospital Trust, which runs the hospital, said: "Every patient in the emergency department should be regularly checked on.
