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A cancer patient recovering from major surgery has described how she was left in excruciating pain for hours on end after staff at an under-fire NHS hospital failed to give her appropriate pain relief.
Zoe, 38, who had surgery for kidney cancer in September, said she has suffered nightmares following her stay at Salford Royal Hospital after being forced to wait in agony to receive adequate treatment. She says she was only given the right medication when a health watchdog inspector visiting the hospital raised the alarm.
Salford Royal Hospital has been criticised by the health watchdog over severe staff shortages in the surgery department, as revealed earlier this month by The Independent.
The Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, was given a formal warning by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after inspectors found surgical patients, such as Zoe, had faced delays receiving critical medication and were left in pain.
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Inspectors also said urine bottles had been allowed to “stack up” on wards. Multiple sources have told The Independent that frontline staff have raised concerns to leaders about the situation, but feel “abandoned” by trust executives.
Zoe told The Independent: “It was horrendous. I was sweating a lot because I was in so much pain, and obviously, I’ve never had an operation like that before. So, I kept saying: ‘Should I be in this pain?’
“I’m not a complainer, I’m not someone to moan, but I couldn’t move, I was in that much pain, and the nurse just kept saying: ‘There’s nothing I can do… the doctors haven’t prescribed anything else.’”
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Salford Royal Hospital is run by the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust (PA)
Zoe said a woman approached her while she was at the hospital and introduced herself as a CQC inspector.
“I spoke to the CQC about my experience and how I had been left in pain. It still took over three hours for me to be given the pain relief once it had been prescribed,” she said.
Zoe said she was given an initial dose of morphine and paracetamol after the procedure, but should have been given a patient-controlled IV drip, which usually contains an opioid. She did not receive this until the next day, after the CQC inspector found her and complained to staff, she said.
Zoe said the ward appeared visibly understaffed, adding: “I was originally only meant to stay in hospital one night, but had to stay four nights due to a series of mistakes, which left me feeling unsafe. After leaving the hospital, I had nightmares about my experience in the hospital.”
In one incident cited in the CQC’s warning, a patient with significant chest injuries was brought onto the surgical ward and did not receive pain relief for hours. He was later found dead. The trust confirmed that an investigation into this patient’s death is ongoing.
The trust was put under a Section 29A notice, meaning it must show improvements in care when the CQC carries out another inspection next year. If it does not, the regulator can take further action, such as having the trust taken over by a special administrator.
However, according to the trust’s board papers for March, it has also received a Section 29A notice in relation to its Royal Oldham Hospital in October 2024.
The trust said it could not comment on specific patient details, but said this was not the level of care and support it aims to offer its patients.
“We are sorry for any harm or distress caused, and we will ensure we contact the patient to understand more about the issues raised,” it said.
Meanwhile, MP Rebecca Long-Bailey last week raised concerns about the trust.
In a letter seen by The Independent, she said that staff have come forward to her “feeling overwhelmed and worried about their ability to maintain safe care under current conditions”.
Juliette Cosgrove, chief nursing officer at the Northern Care Alliance, said: “We have received a letter from MP Rebecca Long-Bailey and will be meeting with her to discuss the actions we’ve taken in response to the Care Quality Commission’s feedback.
“We acted immediately on the issues identified during their visit and will share the progress we’ve made at the meeting. We take this feedback seriously and remain committed to continually improving the safety and quality of our services.”
NCA is based in Greater Manchester. It covers a population of one million across its four hospitals: Salford Royal, The Royal Oldham Hospital, Fairfield General Hospital in Bury and Rochdale Infirmary.