A mother-of-two died after she was found unconscious under a coat in A&E while she was waiting to see a doctor about a headache.
The 39-year-old went to Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham on January 19, and was observed by nurses three times.
Yet when her name was called after seven hours, she didn't respond and hospital staff thought she had left because of the long wait.
She was found unresponsive in a waiting room chair and rushed to intensive care, where she passed away on January 22.
Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) operates the hospital and has started an investigation into the tragedy.
Dr Keith Girling, Medical Director at NUH Trust, said: 'I offer my sincere condolences to the family at this difficult time.
'An investigation, which will involve the family, will now take place and until this has been concluded, we are unable to comment further.'
Former NHS trust chairman Roy Lilley said that the case is likely to be 'escalated' as an 'internal inquiry' is started.
A source told the outlet that wait times at the A&E department can be as long as 14 hours with queues of up to 80 patients.
Figures released yesterday showed that the number of patients waiting more than 12 hours to be seen in England rose by almost 25 per cent last month.
Catat Ulasan