A FRAIL 89-year-old died after she was ignored by doctors in a chaotic casualty unit for seven hours.

Great-grandmother Jane Waite was taken to the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle after she became confused and disorientated following a cut to the head.

The pensioner was left on a trolley in a cubicle for five hours without being offered a pillow or glass of water.

She was then left in a wheelchair for another hour before finally being brought a bed after desperate calls for help from her granddaughter, Sharon Waite.

When doctors finally examined Mrs Waite an hour later, they discovered she had a blood clot on her brain and needed emergency surgery.

But the widow died five days later.

The hospital's chief executive, Len Fenwick, initially refused to apologise but has now written to the family - eight months after Mrs Waite's death - to say the case will be used as an example of how not to treat patients.

Sharon, 40, of Byker, Newcastle, said: "From the minute she arrived in the hospital to the day she died, my grandmother was treated with a complete lack of respect.

"When I complained to a doctor the following day he told me to write a letter to the hospital.

"Then he added: That won't do you any good though. You should write to Tony Blair'."

A spokeswoman for the Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust said: "In accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act we cannot comment specifically on the personal details of care and treatment.