By JOEL SAWYER

THE family of a pensioner who suffered a heart attack claims he waited more than 12 hours for a hospital bed.

The 85-year-old from Warrington, whose family wish him to remain anonymous, was admitted last Monday morning at 9am following a suspected angina attack.

He was waiting for tests and was put on a trolley in a corridor with his 81-year-old wife waiting by his side.

His daughter-in-law said he was given a bottle to urinate in as he lay on the trolley in the corridor and claims it was not until after 9pm that he was found a bed.

She said: "When it gets to giving someone a bottle to urinate into in the middle of a corridor, it's a bit like you're dehumanising people."

He was later found to have suffered a heart attack.

Warrington Hospital said it could not comment on an individual case in order to safeguard patient confidentiality.

But it did say that all patients are seen within minutes of their arrival in the Accident and Emergency department by a 'triage' nurse who determines the urgency of their case.

A spokesman said: "Patients are then treated according to their clinical priority - the most urgent cases at any given time taking precedence.

"It is regrettable that any patient requiring admission to the hospital has to wait for a bed.

''Unfortunately, however, this may be the case if there are a substantial number of emergency admissions, in addition to the hospital's planned workload.

"In terms of taking urine samples, patients are treated with dignity at all times and given access to the nearest available private facilities, away from public areas."