Essex Man Says Drunks Are Clogging Up A&E

Laura Martin went to Queen's Hospital in Romford suffering headaches and vomiting on December the 12th, but died the following day from an undiagnosed lung condition.

Her husband Andrew says they waited more than 5 hours to be seen by doctors because of the number of people in A&E.

By the time 39 year old Laura was checked over, her symptoms had subsided so the couple returned home. But hours later, the mum of two's symptoms returned and they went back to the hospital. After another 2 and a half wait, doctors were able to diagnose the condition, but it was too late to save her.

Mr Martin says too much pressure is being put on A&E services because of people who've drunk too much on a night out. He wants seriously ill people to be given priority.

He's also worried about the future of the emergency department at nearby King George Hospital and the added impact on emergency services if it closes.

Deborah Wheeler, acting chief exec at Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "We will certainly look into Mr Martin's complaint to see if anything could have been done any differently."