Councillor Says She Was Left In ‘Excruciating Pain’ In Queen’s Hospital Corridor.

23rd October 202623rd October 2026 Francesca Lilleystone 0 Comments A&E, Barking, Councillor, Queens Hospital min read

A Barking councillor claims she was left waiting without pain relief in a Queen’s Hospital corridor after a fall- writes local democracy reporter Sebastian Mann.

Labour councillor Marion Hull told her story to local NHS bosses yesterday (Wednesday 21st) – just days after the government awarded the Romford hospital £42million to rebuild its accident and emergency department (A&E).

Cllr Hull said she was “terrified that someone would knock into my trolley” while she waited in “excruciating” pain in the busy corridor.

Andrew Deaner, chief medical officer at Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, apologised and said the organisation was working to “reduce corridor care”.

Cllr Hull, who represents Barking Riverside ward, said she went to the A&E at Queen’s after breaking her wrist and hip while litter-picking.

The Labour councillor said that, at first, she was given a trolley in a cubicle and some pain relief.

However, by the time she was taken for a hip X-ray, the pain relief had worn off. She said that she was then left in a corridor while waiting for the results.

She said: “Patients and relatives were walking along the corridor.

“By this time the pain was excruciating and I was terrified that someone would knock into my trolley.”

She added that, during her wait, six nurses told her they would be back with pain relief “but never returned”.

Eventually, Cllr Hull said she was moved into a room to wait for surgery. She said the room was designed for four people, but she had to wait in a space by the window, not intended for patients, “due to lack of space”.

By this point, she said, “I had not been to the toilet since 10:30am and by now it was 11pm.”

Despite this, Cllr Hull praised the “amazing” ward staff. She said: “They all work hard and do their best for each other and every patient they’re looking after”.

Instead, she blamed understaffing and East London’s growing population.

She said: “The more development increases in terms of building in the area the more often corridor [care] and overcrowding in the hospitals increase.”

Senior Labour councillor Maureen Worby, responsible for health, read Cllr Hull’s story to a meeting of Barking and Dagenham Council’s health scrutiny committee yesterday.

In response, Deaner said work to reduce corridor care meant ensuring appropriate treatment is available outside A&E, and improving “patient flow” through the hospital.

However, he said difficulties finding care for people leaving hospital meant fewer available beds on hospital wards for people to be moved into, from A&E.

Deaner also suggested that funding from NHS England had not kept up with the area’s growing population.

He said: “We’re under huge pressure financially.

“It’s quite hard particularly in this part of London to get the amount of money that we need to run the hospital.

“The amount of work we’re doing is increasing and increasing. The population within our area is growing inexorably and I’m not sure that always gets recognised, and the amount of work we’re having to do is increasing.”

Deaner added that the trust was being “pushed and pushed” by NHS England and the government to cut costs, and therefore reduce staff numbers.

He said: “The most expenditure within hospitals is on staff.

“If you want to save money, you have to reduce headcount to some extent.”

Stay up to date with all of our latest updates and content by following us on our social media accounts!