A PENSIONER said he was left waiting ‘in agony’ for five hours while nurses struggled to find a doctor to help him.

Peter Connearn, 67, has also complained of the ‘appalling’ attitude of a senior nurse at the Royal Blackburn Hospital, which left him ‘too scared’ to stay in overnight.

The retired colour matcher was suffering from urine retention last week, so was referred to the hospital’s urology ward by his GP, for a catheter to be fitted.

But when he arrived, around 4.30pm last Friday, he was told to go to the surgical triage unit, where he was directed to a waiting room.

Mr Connearn, of Sowclough Road, Stacksteads, said he waited until 9.30pm before a catheter was fitted by a doctor, and this only happened after his friend had ‘collared’ a nurse.

He said: “I had pains in my stomach because I couldn’t go to the toilet, but I was left waiting in agony for hours. When my friend found a nurse she was told there was only one doctor and he was busy.”

After the catheter was fitted, Mr Connearn was left waiting for the doctor to return with medication and blood tests, and rang a call bell to find out what was happening.

He said: “This senior nurse came in and said ‘what do you want’ in a really nasty way.

“I asked where the doctor was and she said ‘he’s busy’.

She was offhand and had a face like thunder. I asked how long I would be staying and she said ‘you’ll stay until I find a bed’, but eventually I got off the trolley and told my friend to take me home.

 

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“The doctor wanted me to stay to make sure the catheter had done its job, but I would have been frightened to press that buzzer again.”

Mr Connearn left the hospital at midnight without the blood tests and medication. The pain and bladder problems eased over the weekend, but he is determined to go to a different hospital to be fully treated for the condition.

Gill Simpson, divisional general manager for surgery and anaesthetic services at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We are sorry Mr Connearn did not receive the standard of care we would normally expect all our patients to receive.

“Mr Connearn contacted the trust’s PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison) service and we are dealing with his concerns.”

A spokesman said there were no beds available on the urology ward at 6pm, but other beds were available within the surgical bed complement, should admission have been required.