'He could have died' says mother who waited six hours with baby in A&E

A mother claims she had to wait an agonising six hours in A&E for her six week old baby to be diagnosed with meningitis.

Jessica Mustafa from Grantham had to drive her son into hospital, after being told by a first responder that an ambulance could take several hours.

When she arrived at Lincoln Hospital she and her husband had to wait through the night before seeing a doctor.

Jessica said this was despite seriously ill baby Maliki showing signs of a rash and high temperature.

Lincoln Hospital say they have apologised to the family for the delay and have launched an investigation into what happened.

Director of Operations at ULHT Simon Evans said “Unfortunately, the A&E department was extremely busy overnight, with a high number of seriously ill patients.

"All patients were prioritised according to clinical need, which unfortunately meant that some patients did have to wait longer than we would like.”

East Midlands Ambulance service also says it was extremely busy over the weekend, receiving 400 more calls than last weekend.

They also say the family were given the option of either driving themselves or waiting for an ambulance, which enabled them to make an informed decision.