A steward who fell ill at a Wycombe Wanderers game has criticised a hospital for “not caring” after he was left in A&E without pain relief for eight hours and his blood tests were lost.

Andrew Barnett, who lives in Herbert Road in High Wycombe, was working at Adams Park for their match against Forest Green Rovers on September 2 when he became poorly.

The 53-year-old had previously had an operation at Wycombe Hospital in May to remove a burst kidney stone and to insert a stent - before having another operation to remove the stent - and was told that if he had any problems in the wake of his operation, to go to A&E.

After falling ill at Adams Park, Mr Barnett - who also works as a porter at Wycombe Hospital - was rushed to Stoke Mandeville by ambulance. However, once he was there, Mr Barnett says the hospital “did not care” and did not offer him any pain relief despite repeated requests.

He said: “I was given gas and air but I asked three different nurses for pain relief and I was ignored. I work in a hospital so I understand A&E departments are busy but I was so annoyed. It was like they did not care at all.

“I was told after my operation that if I had any trouble, I should go to A&E – I did, but I was ignored. I also had to have three blood tests as the others were lost, which I think is very concerning.

“After the blood was taken, I still had to wait a long time to see a doctor – in fact, I was on the A&E list but no doctor picked my case up. In the end I wasn’t even properly seen or assessed.”

After arriving at Stoke Mandeville at around 1.50pm, he was left in A&E until he was sent home that night at 10pm.

Healthcare campaigner, Ozma Hafiz, who fought against the closure of Wycombe’s A&E department, said it was “upsetting” to see how “overwhelmed” Stoke Mandeville’s emergency department is.

She said: “Centralising services inevitably adds pressure and time and time again we've heard how Stoke is struggling, be it in 'black status', asking patients who can go home to do so, or otherwise.

“More needs to be urgently done to ensure the recruitment, retention and training of staff. Demoralised and overworked staff who can't provide the care level they wish to, will eventually burn out or leave.

“Local decision makers have a duty to speak up and it is imperative that they do so, not only for our population, but for all the hospitals which are fast following suit with closures and centralisation.”

A spokesman for Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust apologised to Mr Barnett and assured him they would look into his concerns.

They said: “We are sorry if Mr Barnett was unhappy with the care he received and would urge him to contact us directly via the patient advice and liaison service (PALS) on 01296 316042 or email PALS@buckshealthcare.nhs.uk so we can discuss his concerns and look into them.”