Terminally ailing girl ‘pressured to sleep on flooring’ whereas ready in A&E

A terminally ill woman has told of being forced to sleep on the floor while waiting in A&E.

Madeleine Butcher, 62, has endometrial cancer and was taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital at 3am on Sunday with suspected sepsis from her chemotherapy. Despite her prognosis she was initially told she would have to wait in A&E for potentially 36 hours, her husband John told the Blackpool Gazette.

He explained that due to the position of her tumour it is uncomfortable to sit for long periods but as no beds, trolleys or even reclining chairs were available, a doctor gave her a blanket and a pillow so she could lie on the floor. John, 61, said: “I was absolutely horrified. I didn’t realise how angry I was until I got home and I looked at the picture of her on the floor.

“How is that acceptable in this day and age? A terminally ill patient lying on the floor?” He added: “Some of the staff are fantastic, but the systems just don’t seem to be in place to deal with how busy they get.”

Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: “This is what the Conservatives have done to our NHS and it is a disgrace. Rishi Sunak should have the decency to apologise to this poor woman. Our NHS is crying out for change, and only Labour has a plan to deliver it.”

Ms Butcher had a full hysterectomy around 18 months ago after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2022. It was hoped she would get the all-clear following the operation but medics found it had spread further and she was later told she had terminal endometrial cancer.

The 62-year-old has reportedly since been forced to visit A&E on a number of occasions due to sepsis following her chemotherapy treatment. Her husband John said: “It’s always the same routine. You ring 111 and they tell you to go to A&E. You go to A&E and wait for a bit before going into an assessment area.

“She’s usually in for about ten days before coming out again after having antibiotics, an IV, fluids and other stuff to get the infection levels down.” On Sunday, John took his wife to hospital after she had again fallen ill with symptoms of an infection. After 30 minutes she had a blood test and saw a doctor around three and a half hours later who agreed it was likely sepsis.

John said after initially being told the wait could be up to 36 hours and that there were no trolleys available Ms Butcher was advised she could lie on the floor. He said the nurses took action once they saw what had happened and managed to get her a trolley within half an hour. “I still can’t get over the fact that a doctor thought it was acceptable for her to lie on the floor for that long.”

He added: “The annoying thing from our point of view is that we know exactly what’s wrong, but you’ve got to go through the assessment and waiting process every time. Even if oncology rings down and says she needs to be admitted, you’ve still got to go through A&E and listen to the drunks. It’s not a nice place to go.”

Marie Forshaw, acting executive director of nursing, midwifery and allied health professionals, said: “We have received a formal complaint about Mrs Butcher’s care in the Accident and Emergency department. I’d like to thank her for coming forward and am very sorry if the quality of care she has received did not meet the high standards our patients should expect. Any complaint we receive is thoroughly reviewed so we can understand the situation and put into practice any improvements that are needed.”