A HEART patient who waited three hours to see a doctor has claimed that a hospital A&E unit is being “overwhelmed”

after the closure of a neighbouring casualty department.

Hospital officials say they have not encountered any major problems since Bishop Auckland Hospital’s A&E department closed a month ago.

This controversial decision, taken to improve medical staffing levels, means that A&E services in County Durham are now concentrated at Darlington Memorial Hospital and the University Hospital of North Durham, in Durham City.

But last night Joe Salkeld, 70, who lives 500 yards from Bishop Auckland Hospital, said he doubted whether the new arrangements would cope after witnessing A&E staff in Darlington “struggling to cope with demand”.

Mr Salkeld, a father of three, went to the A&E department at Darlington on Friday, October 16, after his heart started beating too fast.

Mr Salkeld had just had a new hip and was told to get urgent medical help if had had any problems.

Arriving at 10pm, Mr Salkeld said he was horrified at how busy the unit was.

“The staff were totally overwhelmed.

They were treating people in a passage. A field hospital in Afghanistan would be better organised,” he said.

After being assessed by a nurse, Mr Salkeld said he waited in a bed in casualty for three hours before he was seen by a doctor.

“Ironically, the two chaps on either side of me were both from Bishop Auckland,” he added.

As part of the changes, patients who need urgent care – but not emergency treatment – can still be seen at Bishop Auckland Hospital.

One patient, Marjorie Herrington, 67, from Coundon, near Bishop Auckland, who cut her foot in a gardening accident, was impressed at the care she received in the Urgent Care Centre at her local hospital.

“I couldn’t fault the care I received and I was seen within a few minutes,” said Mrs Herrington.

Dr Robert McEwan, director of operations at the County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, said it had “not encountered any major problems” since the changes to emergency services, and added that the public had responded well.

A trust spokesman said the emergency departments are “very busy” over the weekend, but that extra staff were in place to cope with increased activity.

The trust continued to achieve the four-hour maximum wait for A&E treatment, he added.