Rotherham Hospital: Terminally ill cancer patient ‘left to sleep across three chairs in A&E for 14 hours’

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South Yorkshire cancer patient Jade Brown says she was left to sleep across three chairs in A&E for 14 hours after going into hospital.

Jade, from Harthill, near Sheffield, says her cancer nurse had recommended she went into Rotherham Hospital after she had become concerned that she was showing signs of infection as a result of her chemotherapy.

But when she arrived, Jade was left on three chairs in an isolation room, with nothing to drink, and was eventually sent home without the treatment she expected.

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She said: “I was treated like a dog – not a terminally ill patient. I was in a room for 14 hours, and then they took me to a resuscitation area with cubicles and glass doors for 10 hours. In the end, they just told me to see my consultant on the Monday.”

Cancer patient Jade Brown, from Harthill, near Sheffield, says she was left to sleep across three chairs in A&E for 14 hours after going into Rotherham HospitalCancer patient Jade Brown, from Harthill, near Sheffield, says she was left to sleep across three chairs in A&E for 14 hours after going into Rotherham Hospital
Cancer patient Jade Brown, from Harthill, near Sheffield, says she was left to sleep across three chairs in A&E for 14 hours after going into Rotherham Hospital

Jade, a stay-at-home mum to an eight-year-old child, was diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer in May. She is only expected to live for another six months. She said she should have a blood test within an hour if she shows signs of an infection related to her chemotherapy – but she was sent home without any such test.

She said she was finally admitted to hospital the following week and had to be put on oxygen as a result of the delays to any treatment. “I just don’t want anyone else to be treated the way I was,” she said. “I dread to think how many people have been treated like this. None of this had to happen.”

Jade aged 34, and gone to A&E at Rotherham Hospital at 10.30pm on Thursday October 20, taken by her wife, Rachel O’Flaherty, who has back problems. She said she moved to South Yorkshire recently, having previously been treated in York, where she had no experiences like that which she went through in Rotherham.

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A spokesperson for The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust said: “We are very sorry to Ms Brown for her experience whilst attending our Urgent and Emergency Care Centre and for any distress caused. Although we are unable to comment on individual circumstances, we would encourage Ms Brown to contact our Patient Experience Team so we can conduct a thorough investigation and apologise directly.”