A CHILD suspected of having pneumonia was forced to sleep on the floor of a hospital due to lack of beds. Little Jack Williment, 4, was rushed to Leeds General Infirmary by an ambulance last week after falling ill. His mum Sarah has claimed that her son was left in a clinical treatment room for […]
A CHILD suspected of having pneumonia was forced to sleep on the floor of a hospital due to lack of beds.
Little Jack Williment, 4, was rushed to Leeds General Infirmary by an ambulance last week after falling ill.
His mum Sarah has claimed that her son was left in a clinical treatment room for over four hours, lying on a pile of coats on the floor of the room with an oxygen mask on.
The hospital has since apologised to the boy and his family, and explained that it was the busiest week the A&E had seen since 2016.
Sarah, 34, told the Yorkshire Evening Post: “The NHS is in crisis. We went in an ambulance from our GP as the doctor suspected he was suffering from pneumonia.
“We bypassed A&E on the way in but it was so busy. There are just not enough beds.
“He spent eight and a half hours in A&E, more than twice the required waiting time which is normally four hours.
“Jack wasn’t provided with a bed on a ward until 13 and a half hours later.”
Initially Jack was given a bed in the Paediatric Emergency Department but was moved into the clinical room because of an emergency arrival at the hospital.
Dr Yvette Oade, Chief Medical Officer at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said: “Our hospitals are extremely busy at the moment and we are very sorry that Jack’s family had a long wait in our Emergency Department.
Our Chief Executive Julian Hartley has spoken to Jack’s mum and offered a personal apology.
“We are extremely sorry that there were only chairs available in the treatment room, and no bed.
“This falls below our usual high standards, and for this we would like to sincerely apologise to Jack and his family.
“We are increasing the bed availability in our Children’s Hospital and our Children’s Assessment and Treatment Unit will be relocating to a larger area in the new year.
“We are continuing to develop the plans for our new Children’s Hospital in Leeds which will be built in 2025.”
