Elderly man forced to sleep on hospital floor in agony for 12 hours while waiting for stretcher
A great-grandad-of-two suffering from pneumonia resorted to sleeping on a hospital floor on top of his dressing gown during a 12-hour wait for a trolley.Martin Wakely, 75, was rushed to Medway Maritime Hospital in Kent by ambulance after his wife Tracy, 63, became concerned he was struggling to breathe.Martin waited 12-hours for a trolley to lie on as he has Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and the condition means he is unable to sit for long periods. The former gun dog trainer was left crying due to the pain in his back from being unable to lie down – he was then diagnosed with pneumonia and a trolley was provided.Martin says he discharged himself after 51 hours in hospital altogether when the bed he was finally given was out in the corridor.Bosses at Medway NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, have apologized but said it was continuing to see a high number of patients who needed admitting for treatment.Tracy Wakely, who has been married to Martin for 23 years, compared the level of care her husband received to that of a ‘third-world’ country.The former council property inspector, from Bobbing, Kent, said: “It was heart-breaking seeing someone I love put through it.“It’s disgusting that he has worked all his life, paid all his taxes, done everything right and he ends up on the floor with the rubbish.“I’ve got nothing against the people who were there because they can only work with what they’ve got but the whole thing is stretched too far.“I knew the NHS was in a state but until you’re actually in that situation or you’re there in amongst it you don’t realize how bad it is.“It’s like what you imagine a hospital in a third-world country would be like.It is disgusting.”Tracy, 63, called an ambulance on October 27 at 11 a.m.
as Martin had been struggling to breathe and they arrived at the Medway Maritime Hospital at midday.Martin, who is also a grandfather-of-four is cared for by his wife at home and is virtually bedbound because of ...