HOSPITAL chiefs have reneged on promises to keep a minimum number of staff at a Worcester hospital's accident and emergency department, claims a Kidderminster woman.

Sam Goodman, whose mother died last October following a 16-hour trolley wait in A&E at Ronkswood Hospital, said the vow had been broken.

Worcestershire Acute NHS Hospitals Trust chief executive Ruth Harrison pledged at least eight nurses would be on daytime shifts after the trust admitted its staffing levels had dropped when her mother died.

But Mrs Goodman claims staff levels in the A&E department are dropping below "safe" levels after the experience of a Wolverley patient.

Heart patient Michael Webster, 51, claims he spent 10 hours on a trolley and was told staff levels had fallen below the safety mark, with eight absentees.

Mrs Goodman said: "I think they tried to placate me and for the majority of people it's enough to get a promise.

"But it goes to show they can't keep that promise. If the staff levels were low for my mum and this man, how can they be sure they aren't for other patients?"

Mrs Goodman, of Bruce Road, is continuing her complaint against a nurse, who she claimed failed to care for her mother.

The UK Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting has not upheld the complaint which will now be investigated by a trust convenor.

A Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust spokeswoman said staffing levels were set at an "optimal" level.

She would not say what the level was.