THE NHS in Worcestershire has been dealt a fresh blow after a patient told how she was forced to sit in severe pain in the A&E waiting room at Worcestershire Royal Hospital because there were no beds, or even a trolley, available.

The 31-year-old woman, who said she was told she would have to wait up to five hours for treatment when she went to A&E on Monday, contacted the Worcester News from the hospital to say the department was “in chaos”.

She exposed the problems at a time when the NHS in Worcestershire appears in crisis with five A&E doctors quitting at the same time last week while hospitals struggle under unprecedented levels of patient demand and a serious cash shortfall.

Yesterday Worcestershire Acute Hospitals Trust staff were called into extraordinary briefings with chief executive Penny Venables after the shock announcement last Friday that all four emergency consultants at Redditch’s Alexandra Hospital, along with one other from Worcestershire Royal Hospital, had resigned.

MPs for Redditch and Bromsgrove Karen Lumley and Sajid Javid are due to meet Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt next week, but the departure of the consultants is just the latest in a series of setbacks for the acute trust.

A&E de par tments at Wo rcester and the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch have been experiencing “unprecedented” demand since December, leading to increasing waiting times and many patients having to be treated in corridors, while the cash-strapped trust is facing a predicted end-of-year deficit of £27.6 million.

The patient, a 31-year-old woman from St John’s, Worcester, went to A&E at Worcestershire Royal at 1.45pm on Monday suffering from severe pelvic pain.

She said she was told she would have to wait up to five hours for treatment, but despite asking for a bed to lie on while she waited was told there were none available.

“I asked for painkillers and was told I couldn’t have any as they couldn’t monitor me in the waiting room,” she said.

“I was eventually called through to minors about 6pm but given a seat rather than trolley.”

She was eventually transferred to a ward at about 9pm – more than seven hours after she first visited hospital.

“The doctors and nurses have all been fabulous and done their best to treat me and other patients with dignity and respect, but they are in a ridiculous situation,” she said.

A spokesman for the acute trust said anyone with concerns about treatment should contact the trust directly.

“A&E services in Worcestershire, in common with many areas of the country, continue to experience extremely high levels of demand and both our A&E departments have been under extreme pressure,” he said.

He said the trust was working closely with other NHS organisations in the county on a number of initiatives to relieve the pressure, including opening extra wards and introducing GPs at A&E and encouraged those who do not need emergency treatment to go instead to a minor injury unit or pharmacy.

Watchdog Healthwatch Worcestershire believes the consultants situation has arisen because of uncertainty over a much-delayed review of hospital services across the county that has led to concerns that the Alex’s A&E department could be closed.

This was originally planned to be complete by the end of 2014 has been beset by delays, with a public consultation now not due to be launched until after May’s general election.

A spokesman for Healthwatch Worcestershire said: “It appears that the situation with the A&E consultants has arisen from the considerable delay with the acute services review and the consequent uncertainty that has arisen for NHS staff and as well as patients,” he said.

“We look forward to the review being resolved as quickly as possible for all of Worcestershire’s communities.”

None of the consultants will leave before May and all five vacancies are being advertised this week.

An acute trust spokesman said negotiations were being carried out with all five consultants, all of whom have been offered roles at Warwick Hospital, and services continue as normal in the meantime.

“We are working with partners locally and across the region on a solution to maintain A&E services at the Alex in the future,” he said.

“We are pleased to have already received offers of support from other trusts.”