A shocking photo shows a terminally ill woman forced to sleep on the floor of a hospital due to a lack of beds.
Madeleine Butcher, 62, was taken to hospital by her husband John, 61, at around 3am on Sunday and was told she was probably suffering from sepsis.
Despite the prognosis, Madeleine, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2022, was told she might have to wait 36 hours in the ER.
She explained that it was uncomfortable to sit longer due to a rupture from her hysterectomy and the location of her tumor.
Madeleine Butcher had to sleep on the hospital floor after they ran out of beds. John Slager / SWNS
But despite her inquiry as to whether a bed, a cart or even a recliner was available, she was told that there was nothing available.
Her husband John said the doctor instead gave her a blanket and pillow so she could lie on the floor at Blackpool Victoria Hospital.
Garden centre worker John, from Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancs., said: “I was absolutely shocked.
“I didn’t realize how angry I was until I got home and looked at the picture of her on the floor.
“How is that still acceptable in this day and age? A terminally ill patient lying on the floor?
“I still can’t accept that a doctor thought it was acceptable for her to be on the floor for so long.”
On Sunday morning around 3am, John took his wife to the hospital because she was suffering from symptoms of an infection.
About 30 minutes after arriving she had blood tests and about three and a half hours later she saw a doctor who agreed it was probably sepsis.
John says the nurses sprang into action when they saw his wife lying in the ward and within half an hour they had arranged for a stretcher for her.
But it was not until Wednesday evening that she was admitted to a ward.
“Some of the staff are fantastic, but the systems just can’t seem to cope with the workload they get,” said John. John Butcher / SWNS
And the incident has made him angry, because he believes the situation could have been resolved immediately.
He added: ‘The nurses had got her a stretcher within half an hour of seeing her on the ward, so I suspect there would have been stretchers available at that time.’
“It’s not ideal, but a cart is at least more comfortable than the floor or chairs on the first and second floors.
“The hallways weren’t that full, as far as I could tell it wasn’t that busy, but I also couldn’t see how short staffed they were.
“When you’re under pressure you make mistakes and I think they were under a lot of pressure.
“One of the doctors described the Emergency Department as a war zone, so I can understand why some people are struggling in that situation.
“I feel like the problems go back decades under successive governments, back to Margaret Thatcher, and nothing has really improved since then.
“We are facing a creeping privatization of the NHS and that is not good.
“The fact that you can go to a private hospital for faster treatment than the NHS and often see the same doctors is wrong.
“There are not enough nurses, not enough beds.”
Mother-of-two Madeleine is currently on sick leave from her job as a legal cashier and remains in hospital while being treated for sepsis.
It’s a condition she’s suffered from frequently since her cancer diagnosis, often requiring a 10- to 14-day wait.
John said he was frustrated with the system and how difficult it is for his wife to get the treatment she needs when it flares up.
He said: “Some of the staff are fantastic, but the systems just don’t seem to be in place to cope with the pressure.”
“The annoying thing from our point of view is that we know exactly what’s wrong, but you have to go through the assessment and waiting process every time.
“Even if oncology calls and says she needs to be admitted, you still have to go to the emergency room and listen to the drunks. It’s not a nice place to go.”
Madeleine had a full hysterectomy about 18 months ago and it was hoped that she would be completely safe after the operation.
But unfortunately it had spread further and she was later diagnosed with terminal endometrial cancer.
John said: “It’s always the same routine. You call 111 and they tell you to go to A&E.
“You go to the emergency room and wait a while before going to the examination department.
‘She usually stays inside for about ten days before coming back out after having antibiotics, an IV, fluids and other things to bring the infection levels down.
“We’ve had some great care, some mediocre care and some bad care. Sometimes the system can’t handle it. I’m not convinced it’s as simple as just throwing money at it.”
Marie Forshaw, acting director of nursing, midwifery, allied health professionals and quality at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We have received a formal complaint about Ms Butcher’s care in the emergency department.
“I would like to thank her for coming forward and I am deeply sorry if the quality of care she received did not meet the high standards our patients have a right to expect.
“Every complaint we receive is thoroughly assessed so that we can understand the situation and put any improvements into practice.”
