A PATIENT claims she was left frightened and bleeding in Queen Elizabeth Hospital for 20 hours because staff were completely overstretched.

Brenda Green, of Lime Grove, Blackfen, says the Woolwich hospital was visibly under-staffed during her ordeal on June 18.

And yet the situation could get far worse if plans to downgrade Lewisham's A&E go-ahead and trigger an influx of thousands of extra patients at QEH.

The 53-year-old mother-of-two was admitted to QEH after finding herself haemorrhaging from a cervical operation at Orpington Hospital two weeks earlier.

She told News Shopper: "I was absolutely bleeding and flooding.

"They didn’t even look for about six hours and when they did they didn’t have the equipment in their building to be able to cauterize it and stop it bleeding.

"They left me on a ward for 20 hours still bleeding and not doing anything.

"The nurses were fantastic but they are so over-stretched, they can’t deal with it.

"I was so frightened. I thought, ‘how much more blood can I lose before someone will help me?’"

Ms Green, an NHS counsellor, eventually discharged herself after being told she may have to wait a further 24 hours to be treated.

Her family took her to the private BMI Blackheath Hospital where she was swiftly treated.

The celiac sufferer - who says she has an infection following her epic wait - also claims there was no food available to cater for her dietary needs at QEH.

The Blackfen resident added: "They cannot cope. It was absolutely horrendous.

"There was a lady miscarrying and she was yelling out to be seen.

"It isn’t really their fault.

"I think the public need to know and the government need to too because it is just breaking down."

A spokesman for South London Healthcare Trust, which runs the hospital, said: "We understand Ms Green has now complained formally.

"We will be investigating her concerns thoroughly and will respond directly to her."