Oswestry patient tells of 'hours of hell' as A&E patient at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital

He said conditions were so poor the staff never had a chance – and that one nurse said they were trying to operate a system that was broken.

Although he was taken to hospital in an ambulance after blacking out, he was asked to leave his cubicle so 'more seriously ill' patients could be treated – and then expected to spend the night in a chair in a corridor.

"The staff were at their wits' end," he said.

The patient, from Hengoed, asked to remain anonymous but wanted to highlight the stress hospital staff were working under.

Here, in his own words, are what he described as "14½ hours of hell" at the hospital which, if NHS proposals go ahead, will house the county's only A&E department.

"I had one of my worst-ever night's sleep with endless visits to the toilet.

"In the bathroom at about 6am I began to feel dizzy and made my way back to bed.

"Shortly before 8am it seems that in attempting top get out of bed I blacked out and at that point my wife dialled 999.

"Quickly, and before I realised what was going on, there were three ambulance personnel beside the bed.

"Following a discussion it was decided the ambulance staff – which included a paramedic – would take me to the A&E department in Shrewsbury.

"We must have arrived at the hospital about 9am and incredibly – according to the ambulance staff – I was admitted almost immediately.

"I must express my great appreciation for the ambulance crew, based in Oswestry. Their conduct was of the highest quality.

"By this time I was fully conscious and was taken to a bay in the A&E and helped on to a kind of sofa bed.

"Soon, nursing and medical staff came to assess me and all the appropriate tests were carried out, and blood was extracted – with some difficulty – and I was wired up for a CCG.

"These procedures were carried out all through the morning – they were thorough and the staff were admirable.

"After lunch – sandwiches, as requested – the monitoring continued and a young medic came to ask me many questions. It was suggested I would soon be seen by a consultant who would inform me how long my stay would be, and would prescribe medication as required.

"The hours rolled by – teatime came and went and by 7pm still no consultant.

"Unfortunately, in the rush to leave with the ambulance that morning, my wife had failed to take the essential medication and was seriously in need of some. Staff made it clear they could not provide 'stop-gap' tablets.

"It had made clear earlier in the day should an overnight stay be required, a bed would be made available.

"Around this time, a doctor appeared and informed me that as it seemed I had lost consciousness, an overnight stay was essential.

"As the evening went on it became clear the A&E department was being overwhelmed by an influx of very sick and elderly patients. By now I was able to walk around and noticed an increasing number of patients lying on beds in the corridors.

"Now 8pm had arrived and still no consultant — nor a bed – and when my blood pressure was taken, I was feeling more like my old self . So when I was asked by a senior nurse to vacate my cubicle for a more seriously sick patient, I was willing to do so, as it occurred to me a bed was in prospect.

"Not so. My cubicle was taken and I was asked to take a chair in a small side room. The monitoring of my condition had now ceased and I faced then prospect of spending the night in an upright chair and the cacophony of the A&E ward.

"This prospect stressed me to the eyeballs. I did not need to have my blood pressure taken, it was by then going through the roof.

"By this time I had been detained in casualty for more than 12 hours with no reading matter, no media and little to drink. The future seemed grim. The staff were at their wits' end. They could not cope with the great patient influx and, worse, the computer system had failed.

"As one nurse exclaimed in the midst of this living hell: "We are trying to operate a system which is broken."

"By 10pm I had decided I could not face a night in these conditions and that if I could sign myself out, I would, and at least have the prospect of a quiet and comfortable night's sleep at home.

"I approached the ward nursing station and asked to sign myself out, only to be told this had to be done in the presence of a doctor with, perhaps, his signature. The duty nurse agreed to find a medic and I waited... and waited.

"Eventually the appropriate declaration form was found for me to sign and when I attempted to read it, it was snatched from me – I was not being allowed to read it! I asked how In was expected to sign something I had not read, nut got no response."I called a taxi to take me home and was told it would arrive to collect me in 30 minutes – about 10.30pm.

"I returned to the nursing station and waited for a doctor. Eventually one arrived but by then the taxi had been and gone. The doctor seemed reluctant to get too involved. He didn't sign anything and nor did I but suggested I see by GP the following morning.

"At 11.30pm another taxi arrived to take me home – 14½ hours of a stay – and I had a good night's sleep.

"I wish to thank the staff involved with my stay at the A&E. They did their best in the most difficult of conditions.

"The circumstances which led me to walk out of the hospital were not of their making.

"Their professionalism had been compromised, even trashed, to the extent they were not able to provide the treatment they deemed necessary.

"When I left the hospital at 11.30, there were still 20 or so walk-in patients waiting to be seen, and ambulance staff were waiting to deliver their patients.

"On the way out, I caught sight of a picture of a young nurse with a caption that said something like 'would you recommend this hospital to your friends?' Sorry, I would recommend the hospital's A&E department to only ministers of the crown and members of parliament.

"When I saw the GP the next morning, all my test results from hospital had already been sent to him, which says so much for the hospital staff."