Hospital plays down bed-blocking drugs delay claims

Following last week’s Advertiser front page story telling how more than 600 patients waited more than 12 hours for treatment in A&E in July, a recent former patient contacted us with her concerns.

The woman, who asked not to be named, said waiting for the under-pressure pharmacy to provide her medication had held up her discharge by eight hours.

“I had been officially discharged but was waiting and taking up a bed all day when I did not need it,” she said.

“Someone else could have had my bed. I just couldn’t believe it.

“It was very frustrating when I was trying to get home and I was only waiting for tablets.

“Why did they not give them to me on the ward earlier rather than having to wait for the pharmacy?”

The dismayed woman said hospital staff had apologised for the delay, which she called “crazy”.

The response from George Briggs, chief operating officer of the hospital, suggested such issues were not common.

“Despite our services being extremely busy recently, on the whole we have not experienced delays with medication from our pharmacy for patients being discharged,” he said.

“Depending on individual circumstances, there may be some patients who wait longer than average.

“We can investigate any individual cases if the patient contacts our Patient Experience Team on 01709 424461 or by emailing [email protected].”