A PATIENT who spent 15 hours on a hospital trolley while waiting to be treated for a suspected heart attack has backed calls for accident and emergency services to be reopened in Kidderminster.

Roger Barry, from Stourport, was taken to Worcestershire Royal at around 6.40pm February 2 by paramedics after suffering from chest pains.

But the 73-year-old said the huge demand on the department meant he, and a number of other patients were left waiting in a queue of trolleys as no beds were available.

Earlier this month, Independent Wyre Forest Councillor John Aston told the Shuttle that the restoration of A&E services at Kidderminster, which closed in 2000, was essential to ease the pressure on Worcestershire Royal.

Mr Barry said: “I fully endorse Councillor Aston’s comments. My experience at Worcestershire Royal was awful but I certainly do not blame the staff who are doing an excellent job. But they are over-stretched because of the system.

“I had to wait about an hour before I could be handed over by paramedics to nursing staff and I was then put in a queue of trolleys waiting to be moved to cubicles. The cubicles are where people are assessed before they decide to keep them in or send them home.

“But I wasn’t moved to a cubicle until around 2am but, because there weren’t any beds available, I and other people needed to be kept in the cubicles which just added to the waiting time for people coming in.

“I was X-rayed but told they wanted me to be seen by a consultant later in the morning before I could go home.

“I was able to get off my trolley and go to the toilet or get a drink. Others weren’t able to leave their beds and I could hear them calling for help. But they weren’t able to get it as staff were so stretched.

“I think A&E at Kidderminster should be reinstated or, as a compromise, people from Wyre Forest should be taken to Kidderminster and assessed before either being transferred to Worcester or sent home.”

A spokesman for Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust said: “A&E services in Worcestershire, in common with many areas of the country, have experienced extremely high levels of demand this winter and have been under extreme pressure.

“When demand is at its highest, patients are assessed on trolleys in the corridor in A&E to avoid them being assessed in the back of an ambulance outside. Where we can, we avoid this, but should trolleys be required our staffing levels are sufficient to cover the A&E corridor.

“The Minor Injuries Unit at Kidderminster Hospital is an important part of the county’s network for urgent care and can deal with a wide range of injuries and illnesses without an appointment. The majority of people are discharged home after treatment, but if necessary, would be sent to Worcestershire Royal if required.

“Paramedics would never take a suspected heart attack patient to Kidderminster as it doesn’t have the specialist services to deal with a heart attack – Worcestershire Royal is the county’s centre of excellence for this and has a 24/7 cardiac cath lab, so all county patients would be brought here.”