A THURROCK former GP from Stanford-le-Hope waited in hospital for 11 hours before being admitted to a ward after a nasty fall outside his home left him with head and facial injuries.

Dr Anjam Bose, 77, who during his 50-year career as a doctor worked in Thurrock surgeries and medical centres, suffered a fall outside his Stanford-le-Hope home band lay on the floor for an hour-and-a-half as a neighbour waited with him until an ambulance arrived.

Upon arrival at Basildon Hospital, Dr Bose waited two hours on a hospital trolley before being moved to the emergency department where he remained for a further 11 hours before being admitted to a renal ward.

After being discharged, a couple of days later, Dr Bose said: "No one chooses to go to hospital and if they are there, they should not be treated like animals or need their family to have to look after them whilst there."

At the time, the emergency department was experiencing high demand.

Cherry West, Basildon Hospital managing director, apologised to Dr Bose and his family and encouraged them to contact the patient advice and liaison service.

Ms West said: "We are very sorry Dr Bose had to wait longer for care in our emergency department than we would like. We'd be happy to look into the concerns raised by Dr Bose's family and encourage them to contact our patient advice and liaison service."

Dr Bose's daughter Tina Mason claimed the ambulance service was called three times and kept informed of his deteriorating condition before he was admitted.

The service was also under pressure at this time, but an East of England Ambulance Service Trust (EEAST) spokesman has apologised to Dr Bose and his family.

An EEAST spokesman said: "I would like to apologise to Dr Bose and his family for the delay in his care and any distress this caused them. Although our service was under pressure at that time, and we had to prioritise those patients with life-threatening conditions, this still fell short of the standard of patient care that we set ourselves, and which the public expect.

"We would ask Dr Bose's family to please contact our patient liaison team so we can fully investigate this for them."

In the emergency department, the family said Dr Bose was offered little food, and criticised the state of wards and bathrooms with discarded waste on floors. Hospital bosses insist all areas are regularly cleaned, and the department offers rounds of sandwiches with tea and coffee in between.