A HOSPITAL trust is revising how it deals with casualty patients after a pensioner waited more than 12 hours for treatment.

Lena Richards, 82, from Hazlemere, was taken to A & E at 5pm on May 14 by her daughter with a suspected hand fracture. She was seen by nurse and had an x-ray.

The pensioner, who suffers from dementia, had still not been seen by 12.30am on Tuesday.

Daughter Helen Woods said: "By this time my mother was extremely distressed and my sister decided to take her home and bring her back early next morning."

Another patient, Jane Best, told last week how she endured a 12 hour wait on the same night to get six stitches in a cut on her finger which took four minutes to stitch.

Mrs Richards returned to hospital at 8.30am and was not seen until 1pm. She was given a plaster strapping, in two minutes, but this had to be re-applied when she was at home because it fell apart.

"Surely minor injuries like those of my mother and Mrs Best could be separated from more serious injuries and dealt with by a senior nurse therefore eliminating almost 50 per cent of walking wounded who are waiting."

A spokesman for South Bucks NHS Trust said A&E was busy that night after taking patients from neighbouring hospitals which had restricted access.

"We are looking at ways of improving the way we deal with minor injuries patients. At present it is too early to say what ways but we do try and give the patients some idea of how long they will have to wait."