Key Points
- It is reported that family members of 86-year-old Joan Jones claim that she stayed for 30 hours in the A&E at the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary, Wigan, before being transferred to a ward.
- According to her son Barry Jones, Joan had a collapsed gallbladder and was in pain all the time while waiting.
- The family said that Joan has been waiting in a chair of the waiting room for over 24 hours before receiving a trolley bed in a corridor.
- The Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust claims that it “takes all these concerns very seriously”, and reducing waits is its “top priority”.
- According to chief executive of the trust Mary Fleming, the increased demand and delayed discharges have affected wait times.
- Previously, the Care Quality Commission stated that the trust is among the worst in England in terms of patient wait times of over 12 hours in its emergency department.
- The CQC rated urgent and emergency care services at the hospital “requires improvement”.
Wigan (Manchester Mirror) October 22, 2026 — The family of an 86-year-old woman says she endured an “agonising” wait of about 30 hours in the accident and emergency department at the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary before she was transferred to a ward. As reported by the BBC, Joan Jones’s relatives say she was left in a waiting-room chair “rolling over in pain” for more than 24 hours while awaiting care.
The allegation has renewed attention on emergency-care pressures at the Wigan hospital, which was recently criticised by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for long waits and delays in the emergency department.
What does Joan Jones’s family say happened?
Joan Jones was taken by ambulance from her home in Ashton-in-Makerfield to the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary in the early hours of Sunday, October 18, according to her son, Barry Jones. As reported by the BBC, he said his mother had suffered a collapsed gallbladder and was in “constant pain” while waiting for treatment.
Barry Jones said his mother was “extremely fatigued and weak” during the wait. He told the BBC that other patients in the waiting area questioned why she remained there, asking, “what’s she doing in here?”
He said that, after repeated requests to nursing staff, his mother was eventually given a pillow and placed on a trolley bed in a hallway. He said she was moved to a ward approximately 30 hours after arriving at A&E.
Barry Jones described the situation as “unbelievable” and said the experience was “an absolute disgrace”. He alleged that a nurse told him his mother “wasn’t a priority”.
Why has the family criticised the hospital?
The family says the delay caused Joan Jones a “traumatic ordeal”. Her daughter, Angela, told the BBC that elderly patients were being “failed” after contributing to the system throughout their working lives.
Barry Jones also criticised the order in which patients appeared to receive care. As reported by the BBC, he said:
“Police were bringing in criminals, and they were receiving immediate care. The entire system is turned upside down. It’s unjust that those individuals are seen before others.”
The BBC reported that the family’s account centres on the period Joan Jones spent waiting in A&E, rather than on the clinical treatment she later received on a ward.
What has the hospital trust said?
Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said it took the family’s concerns “very seriously”. The trust said reducing waiting times was a “key priority”.
Mary Fleming, the trust’s chief executive, expressed regret over the family’s concerns. According to the BBC, she said: “We appreciate the chance to communicate with her family directly, comprehend their worries, and offer any additional support possible.”
Fleming said higher demand for urgent and emergency care, alongside delays in discharging patients, meant some people were waiting longer than the trust would want. She acknowledged that it can be distressing when a loved one needs urgent medical attention.
She said the trust was working to reduce waits and improve patient experience, and that improvements had been made. Fleming added that the trust was developing alternatives to the emergency department, but would continue to prioritise patients according to clinical need during periods of “unprecedented demand”.
What did the CQC find at the hospital?
The Royal Albert Edward Infirmary’s emergency care has faced separate regulatory scrutiny. In September, the CQC downgraded urgent and emergency care at the hospital from “good” to “requires improvement” and took action to protect people using the service.
The regulator said inspectors found that excessively long waits for specialty beds were causing delays throughout the emergency department. It also said records showed the trust was among the worst-performing in England for the proportion of patients spending more than 12 hours in A&E.
According to the CQC, more than 900 people had stayed in the emergency department for more than 12 hours in the month before its inspection.
The Manchester Evening News also reported the CQC’s findings, stating that 253 people experienced waits of 12 hours or more in the month leading up to the inspection, averaging about 12 patients a day. The report said some patients had to occupy an adjacent corridor and that patients and relatives could not always remain together.
How long was Joan Jones in A&E?
The family says Joan Jones waited about 30 hours before being admitted to a ward. The BBC reported that she spent more than 24 hours in a waiting-room chair before being moved to a trolley bed in a hallway.
The trust has not been reported as disputing the family’s account of the length of the wait. Instead, its response focused on apologising for the concerns, explaining pressure on urgent care services, and stating that patients are prioritised by clinical need.
What happens next?
No formal investigation into Joan Jones’s individual case has been announced in the reporting available. The trust has said it wants to communicate directly with her family, understand their concerns and offer further support.
The wider issue remains under regulatory attention. The CQC’s September action followed an inspection in May and concerned urgent and emergency care at the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary.
Background of the development
The Royal Albert Edward Infirmary is run by Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. In September, the CQC published a critical inspection report and downgraded the hospital’s urgent and emergency care rating from “good” to “requires improvement”.
Inspectors linked delays to long waits for specialty beds, which they said created bottlenecks throughout the emergency department. The CQC also found the trust was among the worst performers in England for the proportion of people spending more than 12 hours in A&E, with more than 900 such waits recorded in the month before inspection.
The latest family allegation comes amid continuing pressure on NHS urgent and emergency services, where trusts have reported high demand and difficulties discharging patients who no longer need acute hospital beds. The trust’s chief executive said both factors had contributed to longer waits than the organisation would wish.
Prediction: how this may affect patients and families
For patients and families in Wigan and surrounding areas, the development is likely to increase scrutiny of A&E waiting times at the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary. Families may be more likely to ask staff about triage decisions, expected waiting periods and available alternatives such as urgent treatment centres or GP services when their condition is not life-threatening.
For older patients and people with urgent but non-immediately life-threatening conditions, the case may reinforce concerns about long waits during periods of high demand. The trust has said it will continue to prioritise patients by clinical need, which means people with less urgent conditions may still face delays while more critical cases are treated first.
For the hospital trust, the combination of the family’s account and the CQC’s findings could intensify pressure to demonstrate measurable improvements in patient flow, bed availability and discharge delays. The CQC has already placed the service under enhanced regulatory attention, and further public reporting of long waits may affect confidence among local patients and relatives.
