An 80-year-old man who was rushed to hospital after having a stroke was put in a 'storage room' by Glasgow medics where he remained for hours. 

The man took unwell on Monday afternoon and was taken to Queen Elizabeth University Hospital after his wife noticed he couldn’t move his right leg or lift his arm to take a sip of juice. 

On arrival, he tested positive for covid-19 and couldn't be placed in a mainstream ward. Instead, he was put in a 'storage room' with no water, buzzer, or access to a toilet - according to his family. 

(Image: Images supplied to the Glasgow Times)

The man’s son told the Glasgow Times: “When I found my dad, he was in a storage room. He wasn’t hooked up to anything and they had a mask on him. 

“I asked the nurse why he was here, and they said because he has covid and we are rammed. 

“I said to a nurse that my dad needed the toilet and that he was catheterized – she said to tell him to do it where he was. 

“He couldn’t walk and I said we needed someone to take him to the toilet. It had been two hours and no one had come, and that’s when I started to get a wee bit annoyed. 

“It just wasn’t acceptable.” 

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(Image: Images supplied to the Glasgow Times)

Pictures show the storage room filled with medical supplies and several drinks which the patient’s son said belonged to staff. 

He added that they would come in and out, and take sips of juice while his dad lay there waiting to use the bathroom and receive medical attention. 

He said: “The staff were running in and out, taking a swig of a drink.

“There were about 20 drinks lined up, bottles of water, cans of coke, iced coffees.”

When the man complained, he claims the head nurse raised her voice and said: “Have you ever worked a 12-hour shift without a refreshment?” 

He added: “I wasn’t questioning that; it was not acceptable that he was in a room and people were in and out to get drinks, ignoring him. I wasn’t questioning how busy they were, I was questioning why my dad had been left in a storage room for six hours without water, access to the toilet, or a buzzer. 

“My daughter, who is 16, was there and couldn’t believe the way the staff spoke to me.”

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His dad has since been moved to a different ward.  

However, an NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde spokesperson said the room was not a storage room, but a resus room. 

They said: "The room pictured is not a cupboard but the procedure room in the resus room which is routinely used to care for patients."

They added: "While we do not comment on individual cases, we would like to apologise to this family whose loved one did not experience the level of care they would expect.

"Our clinical teams have been in close contact with the family throughout in an effort to address concerns that have been raised."