AN ELDERLY couple who rushed their two-year-old grandson to Gillingham's Medway Maritime's accident and emergency department were horrified when they were told they would face a 12-hour wait.

But hospital chiefs are saying an unusually high intake of emergency admissions have affected the department's waiting times since Monday.

Margaret and Michael Johns, of Fiveways Court, High Street, Chatham, raced to the hospital, along with their pregnant daughter-in-law, after they thought little Jordan had burnt his arm on a radiator.

They arrived at A&E just before 6pm on Tuesday and were seen by the triage nurse. Mrs Johns said: "The nurse looked at Jordan's arm and took all our details down.

She said we wouldn't have to wait long, depending on who came into the A&E, so we took a seat in the waiting area. But by 11.45pm we were still waiting."

As Jordan became more and more agitated, Mrs Johns and her daughter-in-law, Tammy, asked a number of times when they would be seen.

Mrs Johns, 54, said: "Every time we asked they told us we would be next, but, as far as we could see, the people coming in after us who were complaining of foot and arm injuries were being seen before us.

"I thought they may have looked at Jordan a lot sooner because he is only a baby."

Mr Johns, 68, added: "I know a lot of people who came in may have been really ill and would have needed attention quickly, but we sat there for nearly six hours and not once did anyone let us know what was going on."

But things took a turn for the worse when Mrs Johns approached the reception desk and was told it might be another six hours before a doctor could attend to Jordan.

Mrs Johns added: "We just couldn't believe it. Tammy was getting really uncomfortable as she is pregnant and we couldn't explain what was going on to Jordan. We just couldn't face sitting in that waiting area for another six hours, so we decided to go home and seek medical attention first thing in the morning."

The family went to see their GP on the Wednesday morning when Jordan was treated with ointment and given antibiotics.

Jacqueline Geoghegan, director of nursing for the Medway NHS Trust, said: "We are very sorry for the delay that Jordan and his grandparents experienced on Tuesday evening.

The hospital has been exceptionally busy with emergency admissions since Monday.

"The medical admissions unit, which plays a very important role in easing pressure on A&E, has been running at full capacity and this has impacted on waiting times for patients."

She reported: "Normally, more than 80 per cent of our patients are either discharged or admitted to a hospital bed within four hours of arriving in A&E. As part of our drive to improve services, a separate children's area within A&E is scheduled to open in the summer."