BROMHAM man Terence Cavill has criticised managers at Bath's Royal United Hospital after he was kept on a trolley for 18 hours in the accident and emergency department.

Mr Cavill, a self-employed builder, was taken by ambulance to the RUH after suffering chest pains and breathlessness at his home in St Ediths Marsh, Bromham.

He was taken into the accident and emergency department at about 11pm on September 10 and was put on a trolley in a curtained off room.

Tests were carried out on him and his blood pressure monitored and Mr Cavill, 60, said he did not feel any worse.

He remained there through the night and into the following day where he was given a sandwich and a cup of tea in the morning.

Twice during the day he went to get a cup of tea in the hospital restaurant.

When he returned to his trolley at 5pm another patient was in there and he was transferred to a wheelchair and shortly afterwards was taken up to a ward where a bed was waiting for him.

Mr Cavill said the ward had a number of empty beds. He did not stay however, as he was feeling better and discharged himself.

He returned to the hospital a few weeks later for more tests but nothing was found to be wrong with him.

Mr Cavill said: "The staff were friendly and nice and I have no problem with them. I got the impression they were busy and I think they realised there was nothing seriously wrong with me as they popped in from time to time to check on me. I think lying on the trolley for the length of time that I did was disgusting.

"I would have hated to have been seriously ill and waiting on a trolley that amount of time. You could die in those booths if they are curtained up.

"I was surprised I was kept hanging around the following day in accident and emergency and then to arrive in a ward with empty beds didn't make sense to me."

In a statement a spokesman for the Royal United Hospital apologised for the distress and anxiety caused to Mr Cavill and said the hospital regretted the length of time he spent in the casualty unit, which at the time was dealing with a high number of emergency admissions.

The spokesman said that since Mr Cavill's admission the hospital had implemented a range of initiatives to relieve pressure on the hospital.

This included opening an 18-bed medical ward and employing an additional consultant in the casualty department.