The widow of a man who died shivering on a trolley at an Eastbourne hospital after waiting four hours for treatment is demanding an explanation.

Dennis Staples, 77, died on January 26 while staff at Eastbourne District General Hospital were struggling against a flu epidemic.

An inquest has recorded he died of natural causes, contributed to by neglect, after hearing he saw just one doctor in four hours.

The father-of-four, of Dittons Road, Eastbourne, was admitted when his GP Paul Frisby became concerned that he was having a heart attack.

Mr Staples was treated, but severe pressure on beds brought on by the flu epidemic meant he was not admitted to a ward.

Wife Gillian Staples, 69, said: "He sat shivering, stripped to the waist on a trolley. I shouted, 'If you don't help soon he is going to die'. Of course they didn't come and he did die.

"I do appreciate that they were run off their feet, but all the same it was an absolutely terrible way to die. It was so cold.

"They kept promising that someone would come and see him but they never did.

"I was told that there was a 25 per cent chance of mortality but at the same time there was a 75 per cent chance of survival. The hospital simply let him down."

Eastbourne Hospitals NHS Trust is now organising a meeting with Mrs Staples, 69.

She said: "I admit he wasn't a well man but he would have been able to carry on for another year at least. It may not sound a long time but that counts for a lot as you get older.

"I'm not after blood - I just don't want it to happen to anyone else."

The hospital said today that a new medical assessment unit had been set up in September to speed up diagnoses, provide specialist care and ease pressure on beds.

A spokesman said: "We would like to express our sincere sympathies to the family of Mr Staples.

"It's hard to imagine how hard the last ten months have been for his family. We believe that there have been lessons to be learned from this tragic case.

"With the benefit of hindsight things could have been done differently, but the decisions that were taken at the time were taken during the course of a absolutely frantic day. The decisions that were taken were taken with the best interests at heart."

In 1998 hairdresser Pauline Freeman, 54, bled to death after a routine hysterectomy at the hospital.

A Government inquiry into her death criticised the trust for its "autocratic" management style and failure to keep the public informed.

It also prompted the resignations of NHS Trust chief executive Clive Uren and chairman John Barkshire.