Frail patients in A&E told to 'soil themselves', damning report finds


Frail patients in A&E told to

By EMILY STEARN, SENIOR HEALTH REPORTER FOR MAILONLINE Published: 12:12 GMT, 5 March 2025 Frail A&E patients were 'told to soil themselves' because there was no-one to take them to the toilet, a damning report has revealed. Healthcare inspectors visiting Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham, Kent, found bed-bound patients faced waits of more than 50 hours with no access to wash facilities, leaving some 'sitting in their own faeces'. Another was forced to urinate in a bottle without any privacy curtains, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) said. According to its report, some staff also said they didn't feel safe raising concerns while some nurses 'lived in fear of punishment from senior leaders'. Health leaders at Medway Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, today apologised for the sub-par care stating 'there is much more for us to do'. The concerning case, comes just days after disturbing national figures revealed eight in ten NHS doctors have had to offer treatment in 'unsuitable' public spaces in the past month. The survey from the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) found patients were often stripped of their dignity and routinely had their safety compromised. Last week, a separate NHS hospital also revealed it had been forced to recruit a doctor to work specifically in A&E corridors in a bid to reduce overcrowding.