'I was in agony after cancer surgery, but no one helped'

A patient has suffered nightmares after being left without pain relief for hours at the under-fire Salford Royal Hospital

- REBECCA THOMAS HEALTH CORRESPONDENT

A cancer patient recovering from major surgery has described how she was left in excruciating pain for hours on end after staff at an under-fire NHS hospital failed to give her appropriate pain relief.

Zoe, 38, who had surgery for kidney cancer in September, said she has suffered nightmares following her stay at Salford Royal Hospital after being forced to wait in agony to receive adequate treatment. She says she was only given the right medication when a health watchdog inspector visiting the hospital raised the alarm.

Salford Royal Hospital has been criticised by the health watchdog over severe staff shortages in the surgery department, as revealed earlier this month by The Independent.

The Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, was given a formal warning by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after inspectors found surgical patients, such as Zoe, had faced delays receiving critical medication and were left in pain.

Inspectors also said urine bottles had been allowed to “stack up” on wards. Multiple sources have told The Independent that frontline staff have raised concerns to leaders about the situation, but feel “abandoned” by trust executives.

Zoe told