86-year-old grandmother had to wait 25 hours in the hospital corridor for her bed after heart attack

An 86-year-old woman who was suspected of having a heart attack waited 25 hours in a hospital corridor for a bed in a hospital room – before she gave up and went home.

Maria Bodea, 86, was diagnosed with a suspected heart attack at home and taken by ambulance to St Helier Hospital in Sutton, London.

However, there were no beds available in the hospital room and the grandmother of two was placed on a rollaway bed in a hallway with up to 20 others, her family says.

The widow Maria and her daughter Sanda Ghiurcusor, 57, were stationed next to a door leading outside and were forced to wear woolen hats to keep warm.

Because Maria could not bear to spend another night in a corridor “with no privacy,” she discharged herself 25.5 hours after arriving at the hospital.

Sanda says others sleeping in the corridor said they had been waiting there since Sunday.

She says “embarrassed” staff have said the situation is the same in all trusts in the country.

The medical assistant from Banstead, Surrey, expressly stressed that her displeasure was not directed against the staff.

Sanda said: “It was like a war zone – a big row of beds right against the wall.

“We were taken straight into the hallway near the automatic doors, so it got cold – it was a really bad night.

“People could walk by, cleaners could walk by and there is no privacy.

“Someone else said they had been there since Sunday.

“My mother is now very frail and confused.

“The head nurse told me that this is the case in all trusts in the country.

“It's not that the staff aren't nice, everyone does a great job, but management doesn't seem to invest in what's needed.

“It's not the doctor's fault – you can see that the staff are stressed and embarrassed.”

Sanda and Maria arrived at the hospital on Tuesday around 6:30 p.m.

Maria underwent a CT scan of the head and a bladder scan and was referred to a specialist on Thursday for further examinations, but the specialist decided that she could not stay in the corridor another night.

She was still in the hallway at 8 p.m. on Wednesday and then discharged herself.

Sanda, who is originally from Romania, said the situation in the hospital made her “sad”.

She added: “They were overwhelmed. It's just sad. I couldn't believe I was in England.”

“Even in Romania, older people would not be treated like this.”

Before Maria was discharged from the hospital, some medications were changed and she was referred to another specialist for further examinations.

A spokesman for Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust said:

“While we always do our best for our patients, these are not the conditions under which we want to care for them and we are truly sorry that Ms Bodea did not have a good experience.

“When our services are exceptionally busy, as they are at present, we sometimes have to care for people in other areas of the hospital until a suitable bed becomes available – this is always only a temporary measure and patients are cared for by clinical teams at all times.”