A WORCESTER mum has spoken out after her 15-month-old son had to wait four hours in A&E suffering with a viral infection.

Earlier this month Lynne Essex, 19, of Portefields Road, and her unwell son Riley were rushed to the Worcestershire Royal Hospital by ambulance and arrived at around 7.30pm.

Riley was initially checked over by a doctor, however, Miss Essex said they had to wait until around 11.15pm before being admitted into the Riverbank Children's Ward.

Miss Essex said: "It was the most terrifying experience I think I have ever been through. He was getting very bad.

"Being a first-time parent you panic a lot. I felt that he deteriorated quite quickly and they made us keep waiting. I just wanted to get him to the children's ward."

And while they were waiting, Miss Essex said she noticed a piece of equipment in the room was covered in blood.

She said: "While we were in the A&E room there was a suction tube that was near the cot.

"When I looked at it there was a lot of dried blood in the bottom and blood squirted all the way up the side.

"I was stressed enough due to how bad he [Riley] was, but seeing that, it makes you wonder what the NHS is turning into.

"I just found it disgusting. It is just not right."

However, she praised the standard of care her son received once he had been admitted to the children's ward.

"When the doctor came to see him, she was lovely, she was really nice" said Miss Essex. "We received really good care. It was just the fact that we had to wait for four hours."

Rab McEwan, interim chief operating officer at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "We apologise that Ms Essex and her son had to wait to be admitted to Riverbank Children's ward.

"Sunday, 10 January was one of our busiest days so far this year, with over 200 attendances at Worcestershire Royal.

"Our triage system ensures that children are seen quickly by a doctor as soon as they arrive at A&E, and that they are treated in clinical priority order.

"In this case Ms Essex and her son were seen by a doctor within 20 minutes. Our focus is on patient safety, and while waiting to be admitted to a ward patients are monitored by our A&E team.

"We've spoken to our team about checking cleanliness of all equipment more closely, and are now looking into increasing the number of cleaners in the department during the night shift.

"I am sorry that cleanliness was not up to standard when Ms Essex was in the department. I would welcome the opportunity to meet personally with Ms Essex to discuss her experience and how we can learn from it."