'A&E left my epileptic daughter alone to have seizures in a chair for seven hours'

A has accused the NHS of “failing” her daughter who had several seizures while she was sitting in a chair corridor as she waited to be seen.

Phoebe, 20, was on her third trip to the emergency room owing to her epilepsy after a change in her medication. But while the first two times she was joined by her mother, Donna Ockenden, on the third she was alone.

On that occasion, she was kept waiting seven hours after being transferred to hospital by ambulance. While she waited in an A&E corridor, she suffered several seizures.

Ms Ockenden, who has led in the health service, said: “Initially she was left in the waiting area on her own. It’s just unspeakable, it’s absolutely disgusting and disgraceful.

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“Despite her learning disabilities and being known to the service she was dropped off in the waiting room on her own, she is 20 but she is really vulnerable, and was left in a chair for seven hours still having some seizures.

“It was Phoebe’s third attendance in A&E in the last weeks. She had been seizure-free for nine months and was doing really well with her epilepsy and her independence. She had a recent change to her medication. Since October 9 we have had three 999 conveyances over to hospital.

“During the first two (visits) I was with her and I was her advocate, it was still pretty rubbish… but for the third I was in Dubai on holiday and woke up to messages about Phoebe being in A&E.

“I’m desperately worried about this winter. Because I’m Phoebe’s mum, I am praying fervently that she doesn’t need to go into A&E anymore… but with her health complexities, we’ll be very lucky if we get through the winter without her needing to go in. I just think, yes, something has got to be done.”

Ms Ockenden, who did not want to name the hospital involved in her daughter’s care, led a review into maternity services at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust and is currently leading the probe into maternity care Nottingham University NHS Trust.

She described how during the first two visits Phoebe was “just about kept safe” because she had been with her. She added she felt corridor care has become “normalised” after seeing laminated signs on walls signposting where patients wait on trolleys.

She said: “The two nights I was with Phoebe, I was actually providing care for other patients on trolleys. On the first night I found myself looking after an elderly lady who was very confused, she was calling out for water.

“I thought: ‘Oh, I better not give her water, because if she had swallowing difficulties she could choke’ so I checked with someone and I was able to give her water. On the second night there was a very confused, old gentleman, on a trolley – no one keeping an eye on him. He was trying to get off the trolley to go to toilet, calling out to go to toilet.”

A Department for Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Phoebe’s experience is unacceptable and is symptomatic of our broken . The Chancellor has announced a £22.6 billion injection into the NHS to get it back on its feet, so it can be there for all of us when we need it, once again.”