A&E patients were told to soil themselves due to a lack of staff to take them to the toilet, inspectors revealed today.

They were left “sitting in their own faeces” as they faced more than 50 hours without access to washing facilities, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) was told.

Inspectors described patients who said they saw staff “crying on the phone for help,” but “no-one seemed to turn up.”

They said that they found the emergency department at the Medway Maritime Hospital in Kent “was not suitable for the number of people” last February.

Inspectors reported seeing a patient “passing urine into a bottle with no privacy curtains,” with staff reporting a fear of reprisals for raising concerns.

Staff also reported that “frail, bed-bound patients had been told to soil themselves because there were not enough staff to take them to the toilet,” the inspectors said.

The trust’s chief executive Jayne Black apologised to patients and said improvements had since been made after the CQC rated the hospital’s emergency department as “requires improvement,” having previously rated it “good.”

Keep Our NHS Public co-chair Dr John Puntis said: “Staff shortages, growing demand, lack of beds, delayed discharges and the crisis in community and social care manifest in accident and emergency departments as appalling examples of patient neglect.

“Lessons from New Labour which should inform present health policy include that increasing NHS funding to meet need, tackling the social determinants of health and a robust approach to public health brought huge improvements in services and public satisfaction.

“The time for foot-dragging is over, while embracing the private sector as ‘helpers’ will turn out to be no more than a blind alley.”

The Department for Health was contacted for comment.