Monklands Hospital A&E like 'war zone' as patient waited 16 hours to be seen for suspected heart problem

A Lanarkshire A&E department has been labelled a “war zone” after a Justice of the Peace had to wait 16 hours for treatment for a suspected heart problem.Under-pressure medics at ­Airdrie's University Hospital Monklands had to deal with ­corridors filled with patients lying for hours on trolleys due to a shortage of beds.Justice of the Peace David Baxter was having heart problems and had to sit overnight on a hard plastic chair in a waiting room last Monday before he saw a medic - and he wasn’t alone.The Lanarkshire Live app is available to download now.

Get all the news from your area – as well as features, entertainment, sport and the latest on Lanarkshire’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic – straight to your fingertips, 24/7.The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories, and allows you to customise your page to the sections that matter most to you.Head to the App Store and never miss a beat in Lanarkshire - iOS - Android He told how about another 30 patients - some apparently seriously ill - also waited for hours to be seen.David, 69, said: “People were lying on trolleys in corridors, there were at least 20 lined up.“They were saying, ‘we can’t let anyone through the doors because there are no beds.’ I was disgusted at what was happening all around me.”David told how one woman sat for six hours before being seen - despite having suffered a suspected stroke.Another elderly woman sat all night waiting to be given intravenous ­antibiotics for a serious bladder complaint and ended up delirious, unable to recognise her own daughter.A patient with pancreatitis was taken to the treatment area and given morphine before returning to the waiting area.A doctor came out and apologised at one