THE heartbroken family of a terminally ill man have told how he spent 15 "agonising" hours lying on a hospital trolley just days before his death.

Richard Hitchings, aged 76, of Grasmere Drive, Worcester, died on Sunday, May 8, after battling cancer.

But his devastated family say he was "gravely let down in his final days" and spent them afraid and in pain when he should have been able to die "with dignity".

As well as spending some of his final hours on a hospital trolley, his family also say he was 'turned onto his side' in his bed at home by a care team, against their own express wishes, an action which they say left him fighting for breath and screaming in pain.

They have made a formal complaint over his treatment in his final days, and NHS bosses have pledged to meet them to discuss their concerns.

Mr Hitchings' family say his cancer, which began in his lungs, had already been diagnosed as terminal when he was admitted to Worcestershire Royal Hospital for fresh scans on May 5, just three days before he died.

His son Anthony, 39, also of Grasmere Drive, said his father, who was 6ft 2ins tall, had bed sores and was known to be 'palliative'.

But he was "crammed" onto a trolley in an A&E bay before being transferred to the A&E resuscitation department and then back to an A&E bay after attending the hospital for a CT scan on May 5.

He says Mr Hitchings spent 15 hours on the trolley, from 9.30am until 12.15am the following morning, before finally being transferred to a ward and then discharged at 2am.

The family say they were told there were no beds available at the hospital.

In a formal letter of complaint to Chris Tidman, chief executive of Worcestershire Acute Trust, which runs Worcestershire Royal, Anthony Hitchings says that his father was kept in hospital for further assessments despite his family already knowing he was dying and Mr Hitchings himself wanting to come home to die.

He said: Treatment in A&E was appalling. I was asked to help a nurse roll and give personal care to my father.

"It was something I did not feel comfortable with, but I agreed as I did want to see him distressed.

"The nurse looking after him spoke to him in a derogatory and condescending manner, calling him 'cheeky' and asking him to 'roly poly'.

"My father was a very proud 76-year-old man who was terminally ill. This is not an appropriate way to speak to someone."

After being discharged, Mr Hitchings was taken home.

But his family say an 'enhanced care team', who visited him there the day before he died, "rolled him", despite being told that he was comfortable, causing him breathing problems.

Mr Hitchings said: "This lead to my father experiencing his final lucid hours in complete terror, screaming that he could not breathe and calling out to me.

"It is going to take me a long time to get over seeing my father in such fear when all myself and my family wanted was for him to pass away with dignity at home.

However despite their concerns, the family has praised the care Mr Hitchings received in Silver unit at the hospital, the work of the initial carers from the enhanced care team and palliative care doctors and stress they were happy with certain aspects of his care.

Worcestershire Acute Trust says it has not yet received the letter of complaint.

But chief executive Chris Tidman said: “We are very sorry to hear about the concerns Mr Hitchings has about his father’s treatment and we extend our deepest sympathies on the death of his father.

“We can confirm that we haven’t received a formal complaint, however as always, we would encourage Mr Hitchings to get in touch with us if he has any concerns over his father’s care and would be happy to meet with him to hear his concerns first hand”

A spokesman for Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust said: “We offer our condolences to Mr Hitching’s family for their loss, and are sorry to hear that they have concerns with the care that we provided.

"We have yet to receive any formal complaint, however we have arranged to meet with the family so we can better understand their concerns.”