Possibly having a stroke, 70-year-old Mark Brighton went to the emergency room at HCA-owned Portsmouth Regional Hospital where he spent more than 24 hours waiting on a gurney in the hallway without care, fluids, or food, reports Seacoast Online.
Brighton was left waiting for answers about his medical condition, despite asking numerous times for test results, as his blood pressure dropped and insulin ran low – a friend eventually brought him insulin from his home.
Brighton believes the overcrowding and delays he endured in the emergency room represent “systemic problems” at HCA. A recent report revealed that staffing levels at HCA hospitals in New Hampshire are 35% below the state average.