Horrific photo shows terminally ill woman forced to sleep on the floor after hospital ran out of beds

A shocking picture shows a terminally ill woman forced to sleep on a hospital floor due to a lack of beds.

Madeleine Butcher, 62, was taken to hospital at around 3am on Sunday by husband John, 61, and was told she was likely suffering from sepsis.

Despite the prognosis, Madeleine — who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2022 — was told she would have to wait in A&E for potentially 36 hours.

She explained that sitting down for any longer was uncomfortable due to a hernia from her hysterectomy and the position of her tumor.

But despite asking if there was a bed, trolley or even a reclining chair she could use, she was told that nothing was available.

Husband John said the doctor instead gave her a blanket and a pillow so she could lie on the floor at Blackpool Victoria Hospital.

Garden centre worker John, of Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancs., said: “I was absolutely horrified.

“I didn’t realize 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?

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“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.”

John took his wife to the hospital at around 3 a.m. on Sunday as she was suffering from symptoms of an infection.

She received blood tests around 30 minutes after arriving and saw a doctor approximately three and a half hours later who agreed it was likely sepsis.

John says the nurses took action once they saw his wife on the floor and managed to get her a trolley within half an hour.

But it wasn’t until Wednesday evening that she was admitted to a ward.

And the incident has left him angry as he believes the situation could have been resolved straight away.

He added: “The nurses got her a trolley within half an hour of seeing her on the floor, so I feel there must have been trolleys available at the time.

“It’s not ideal, but at least a trolley is more comfortable than the floor or the chairs in A and E.

“The corridors weren’t that full, it wasn’t that busy from what I could see, but then I couldn’t see how short-staffed they were.

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“When you’re put under pressure, you make mistakes and I feel they must have been under so much pressure.

“One of the doctors described A and E as a war zone, so I can see why some people might struggle in that situation.

“I feel the issues go back decades under successive governments, back to Margaret Thatcher and nothing has really improved since.

“We’ve got this creeping privatization of the NHS and it’s not right.

“The fact you can go to a private hospital for faster treatment than the NHS and often see the same doctors, that’s not right.

“There’s not enough nurses, not enough beds.”

Mum-of-two Madeleine, currently on sick leave from her job as a legal cashier, remains in hospital while she is treated for Sepsis.

It is a condition that she has often suffered with since being diagnosed with cancer and will often spend 10-14 days in for treatment.

John said he frustrated at 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 deal with how busy they get.”

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“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.”

Madeleine had a full hysterectomy around 18 months ago and it was hoped she would get the all-clear following the operation.

But sadly it had spread further and she was later told she had terminal endometrial cancer.

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.

“We’ve had some great care, some average care and some poor care. At times the system is not coping, I’m not convinced it’s as simple as just throwing money at it.”

Marie Forshaw, acting executive director of nursing, midwifery, allied health professionals and quality at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, 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.”

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