Crisis hospital was understaffed

June Harriman was left for nine hours without being seen, her family say

A hospital which told patients to stay away during a bed blocking crisis had too few staff on its accident and emergency ward during half its shifts.

University Hospital North Staffordshire, in Stoke-on-Trent, was overwhelmed by demand in December 2008.

A BBC Freedom of Information request revealed the number of nurses fell short of what it believed it required.

The BBC asked hospitals around the West Midlands for their staffing levels from November 2008 until January 2009.

In November, the hospital urged patients not to go to its A&E department unless they were seriously ill, citing "unprecedented demand".

Brain haemorrhage

In January, the hospital suspended its application for foundation trust status pending an inquiry into three "serious untoward incidents".

The inquiry at University Hospital North Staffordshire began after the death of June Harriman, 52, in January.

It was obvious to anybody sitting in the waiting areas the night that my mum was there for nine hours Sharon Whiston

She died at the hospital in January from a brain haemorrhage after waiting nine hours for treatment in the hospital's A&E ward, her family have claimed.

The family, from Newcastle-under-Lyme, said hospital staff did not diagnose a brain bleed until she suffered a much worse attack while still waiting to be seen.

Her daughter Sharon Whiston said the revelations about staffing levels had not come as a shock.

She added: "It's not really a surprise to us because it was obvious to anybody sitting in the waiting areas the night that my mum was there for nine hours.

"It seemed to be just a case of backlog.

"It wasn't the case that they were that busy that they were struggling but nobody was moving from the waiting room, nobody was moving from the cubicles, or from the trolleys, it just seemed to come to a complete standstill.

"The fact that there was a lack of staff is absolutely no surprise to us."

Missed target

The hospital has always refused to comment on Ms Harriman's case, saying it does not comment on individual cases.

Since the winter the hospital has spent about £3.5m on employing more nurses, doctors and consultants.

In response to the BBC's questions, the hospital said that locum cover was sought when possible to cover for staff absence but in some cases it had not proved possible.

The hospital said it regularly missed its target of seeing 98% of patients within four hours during the winter period.

Figures for staffing levels among doctors and consultants were not released by the NHS trust, however.

At Stafford Hospital, the trust said that all sickness occurred during this period was covered by locum medical staff.