Patient denied shake during nine-hour North Tees Hospital wait

A hospital has given staff special training after a 71-year-old cancer patient was refused nutrition while waiting for hours at A&E.

In August 2024, May Dadson waited nine hours at North Tees Hospital, Stockton, and was not given her prescribed nutritional shakes before being admitted to a ward for a severe UTI.

The hospital apologised for the “lapse” in service and thanked her son Mark Dadson for working with staff to change procedures to make sure it never happened again.

Mr Dadson, whose mother died from cancer in September 2025, said she would have been “proud to see the changes made” and hoped the training would be implemented nationally.

Mrs Dadson entered the emergency department at 11:00 BST feeling “generally confused and in pain”.

Mr Dadson explained to staff his mother needed a nutrition shake as part of her usual cancer treatment, but was told it was only available on the ward, which she was later admitted to at 20:00.

“I said ‘my mam needs this shake, she needs special nutrition’, but it was refused,” he said.

“I’m not asking for a Parmo, I’m asking for a prescription.”

Staff at North Tees hospital have now been made aware of the process to obtain prescribed nutrition shakes if required.

Patients in A&E are usually advised not to eat or drink before assessment by a doctor, but in cases where there is a longer wait time the hospital will consider providing food, dependent on the symptoms the patient shows.

When patients have specialist nutrition or medical needs, the hospital encourages them or their family to bring supplies to the emergency department.

Mr Dadson hopes changes are made in emergency departments around the country to ensure cancer patients are properly supported when they visit hospital.

He said: “When you have gravely ill people, they will go through the A&E route.

“The fact they are not prepared to give them nutrition is shocking.”

A University Hospitals Tees spokesperson said: “We aim to provide the highest levels of care for all of our patients and have apologised to Mr Dadson for this lapse in our service.

“We have implemented changes in practice and training to assist in providing appropriate nutrition and hydration for patients in the department.

“We would like to thank Mr Dadson for the active role he has played in developing this training by engaging with our teams and sharing his views which has allowed us to learn and improve.”