Man died after 20 hours on trolley

An elderly man who died unnoticed in an A&E unit had spent more than 20 hours on a trolley.

BBC health correspondent Marie Louise Connolly said he had gone to the emergency unit at Belfast's Royal Victoria hospital on Monday 5 March.

He was waiting all day to be transferred to the City Hospital in a packed unit.

"When the ambulance crew arrived, it was clear he had been dead for some time," she said.

Our health correspondent said she understood the man's hospital notes were removed because they highlighted that he had not been regularly checked.

In an interview with the Irish News, the man's widow, who did not want to be named, said she was angry that her 77-year-old partner died with no-one holding his hand.

She accused the Belfast Health Trust of a "cover-up", saying they had not told her the full details about his death.

Belfast Health and Social Health Care trust has begun a full investigation.

It said the elderly man was found unresponsive and died shortly afterwards.