Woman collapses in hospital meeting

Gillian Tracy fainted off her chair about an hour into the session at the Six Villages Sports Centre in Westergate.

Two St John Ambulance volunteers were present and the meeting was suspended to enable paramedics to arrive to help Ms Tracy (70).

They took her to St Richard's for a check up. 'Thank God, it wasn't Brighton or Southampton or that I hadn't suffered from a heart attack,' she said.

'Has nobody thought of putting all this technical expertise and money into improving the suspension of ambulances.

'If they can produce stabilised platforms for television cameras, they can do the same for patient bed suspension.'

She spent nine hours on a trolley in a corridor in St Richard's while various tests were carried out. She was discharged at 4.30am the next day.

She stated: 'We can't let this rationalisation of A and E treatment by one centralised hospital (go ahead).

'It is obvious many people will die just trying to get there and for what? To save money for the government to waste.'