Man set up blow up bed for his partner to lie on as she waited to be seen in 'packed' A&E

[dutchman]

Chris Clark says staff at University Hospital Coventry showed a lack of care and compassion



A man set up a blow up mattress for his partner to lie on as she waited to be seen in a busy A&E department. But Chris Clark, from Coventry, claims staff immediately told him to remove the inflatable bed and criticised what he said was a 'lack of care or compassion'.

Mr Clark's partner Sarah Davies has been taken to hospital by ambulance on Monday afternoon (August 21) suffering with chronic Covid-19 symptoms. But after waiting several hours to be seen in the 'packed' A&E at University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire, Mr Clark retrieved the bed so Sarah, 42, could lie down and be more comfortable.

Mr Clark admitted the blow-up bed was an 'extreme measure', but said he was taken aback after being 'told abruptly to take it down as 'it was not allowed'.

"I removed the mattress from the inside of the building and placed it outside for my partner to lie down," he explained. "Shortly after my partner laid down and got comfortable we were abruptly approached by a security guard and another nurse and told in no uncertain terms to remove the mattress immediately.

"We received no compassion, empathy nor care and sensed the staff were simply trying to cover up the shocking way this department is run." Mr Clark claims the mattress incident compounded an earlier mistake in which staff failed to add Sarah to the system.

He says the error was only rectified when he checked in with the desk after Sarah had not been seen by a medic more than two and a half hours after her arrival. Mr Clark says the department was visibly overstretched.

"The waiting room was constantly packed all throughout the day," he said "and there were patients lying on the floor." "Very ill and injured people in wheelchairs sat for hours on end with no urgent care nor attention."

Mr Clark claims staff were 'rude' and unapproachable' and branded the department's performance 'extremely poor'. He claims Sarah's 40C fever and shivering fits worsened during her time at the hospital leaving her in 'a poorly and very weak state'.

Sarah was discharged shortly after 3am on Tuesday, ten and a half hours after being admitted. Sarah was later told by a GP in Nuneaton that she had contracted the 'highest level of Covid infection', Mr Clark claims.