An elderly cancerpatient was forced to wait 10 hours in a car in freezing temperatures after an A&E said they were 'too full' to admit her.

The 75-year-old woman - who doesn't want to be identified - was rushed to the NHSWigan Infirmary after her GP believed she was suffering symptoms of sepsis. But when she arrived in the afternoon of November 24 the department was 'overflowing', with her family saying that a nurse suggested she wait in her granddaughter's car to avoid the crowded waiting room as a GP had written a letter saying she must be isolated in a side room as chemo had left her immunocomprimised.

It comes after that new figures showed that 30% of patients arriving by ambulance at hospitals in England last week waited at least 30 minutes to be handed over to A&E - lower than the 36% in the equivalent week in 2024.

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Some 10% of ambulance handovers last week, or 9,580 patients, were delayed by more than an hour, compared with 16% at this point in 2024. The grandma involved in the incident in Wigan had stage 3 ovarian cancer, and she was diagnosed in August this year.

But despite this, the woman's family says she was "not isolated or prioritised" as nurses suggested that the pensioner would be better off isolating in a car rather than crammed into the casualty department. Instead she was told to rest overnight in her granddaughter's car from 11pm to 9am as temperatures dropped as low as -1C, only leaving once to receive a dose of antibiotics.

The grandma was only seen by doctors the next day and was finally given a bed 50 hours later on November 26 where she received treatment for chest and stomach infections. Hospital chiefs have since apologised, describing the situation as “extremely disappointing” but pointing out that the day in question was one of the busiest ever encountered at A&E.

Last night, her granddaughter blasted the situation as “completely unacceptable”, and said: "A GP visited my nan at home and was so concerned that she may be developing sepsis that she instructed us to take her straight to A&E.

"The doctor also wrote a letter stating she must be isolated in a side room due to being severely immunocompromised. Despite this, she was not isolated, not prioritised, and not even kept inside the building. When we arrived at Wigan A&E, the waiting room was overflowing.

"There were no seats, people were sitting on the floor in pain, and my nan, a frail immunocompromised cancer patient, was placed beside constantly opening double doors with freezing air blowing directly over her. She was visibly shaking and unwell. What happened next is something no family should ever experience.

"Staff told my nan she would have to wait overnight in the car because they could not accommodate her inside A&E. This was despite the GP’s letter emphasising her vulnerability and the risk of serious infection. I had no choice but to take her back to the car park, bring blankets from home, and try to keep her warm in –1°C temperatures.

"We spent the entire night, from 11pm until 9am, sleeping in the car, leaving only briefly at 12.30 am so my nan could receive her first antibiotics. She had been at the hospital for nine hours at that point. The car had to remain running most of the night just to keep us from freezing."

She said the conditions were "so uncomfortable" and she was left with such "severe" sleep depritvation that she was unable to go to work the next morning as a teacher. The granddaughter added that they "repeatedly told staff" that the grandmother "had not eaten or drunk anything for four days", saying "it took 21 hours before she was given intravenous fluids."

"This is extremely dangerous for someone at risk of infection or sepsis," she said. “Following the night she was forced to sleep in the car, she then spent another full night in a cramped, overcrowded corridor inside A&E because she was attached to a drip. She was vulnerable and exhausted and already extremely unwell and was left for hours among other unwell patients in conditions that were not remotely appropriate for someone with her health risks."

The granddaughter said doctors told patients the reason the department is so overwhelmed is that no staff want to work night shifts, leaving the hospital critically understaffed. She said her grandmother was finally given a bed, but only after the granddaughter made it clear in writing to the Patient Advice and Liaison Service that the hospital would be accountable if her condition worsened.

The granddaughter said: "No patient, let alone someone elderly, vulnerable, and undergoing chemotherapy should ever be placed in such conditions. This situation is not simply a matter of being busy - it reflects a system that is failing, dangerously understaffed, and putting lives at risk.

"The public deserves to know exactly what is happening inside their local hospital. What happened at Wigan Infirmary is unacceptable, unsafe, and amounts to clear neglect."

She said that her nan was now back home, and said that even if she thought she was dying she would not return to A&E. Mary Fleming, chief executive officer of Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (WWL), said: “Our Emergency Department (ED) has been experiencing exceptional pressures, with numbers attending on Monday, November 24 at one of our highest levels ever.

"Because of increased demand in our ED and a rise in patients awaiting hospital admission, along with discharge delays, some patients are waiting longer than we would ever want. We understand how worrying and stressful it can be when someone you love needs urgent care, and we are deeply sorry that any patient has experienced a wait that has caused concern.

"This is not the experience we want for anyone, and hearing that we haven’t met the high standards to which we aspire, is extremely disappointing. WWL plans and prepares as much as possible, and our teams work tirelessly to provide safe, compassionate care for those who need it most during these challenging times. At the time in question, our staffing levels were within our safe staffing escalation levels.

"We have committed to ongoing investment, through our system wide Better Lives Programme, in new ways of working, strengthening support in the community, and collaborating closely with system partners to make care more accessible and responsive across the borough. We sincerely apologise to patients experiencing extended wait times for admission to our hospital."