'How dare he call me a liar'

The relatives of patients at the centre of the Whittington casualty row came out fighting today after facing an unprecedented barrage of accusations from Downing Street and the hospital.

The niece of 88-year-old Sidney Hockley, who was left in casualty for five days, says that the Prime Minister's words and the actions of his staff had branded her a liar. She also expressed her anger at the way Tony Blair's officials had revealed confidential medical details, including the fact that her uncle was suffering from incontinence.

Lesley Hockley, from Woodford Green, said: "I think it's quite unbelievable that Tony Blair should get personally involved and say I am lying and give personal details about my uncle when he won't reveal personal medical details about his own family - such as whether his son has had the MMR jab."

Mrs Hockley, 38, added: "How can he say I am a liar? He hasn't even spoken to me and there are always two sides to the story. He has just accepted what he has been told by senior people from the hospital. I don't believe that Tony Blair, or anyone else, has the right to tell the whole world I am lying without checking the facts.

"There are three families of people treated in A&E that weekend who have all complained. Is he suggesting we are all liars? I think people should have a right to complain if things go wrong, and things did go wrong in my uncle's case."

Mrs Hockley continued: "The hospital have admitted to me that he should not have been in accident and emergency for five days and that he was overlookedby bed managers." Mrs Hockley has demanded to know whether hospital staff released her uncle's medical records to No10 following a press briefing last night where intimate details were given to journalists.

"The hospital did not contact me to ask me permission. Surely this is a breach of patient confidentiality," she said. Mrs Hockley said hospital managers had told her that because she had already spoken to the Evening Standard about her uncle's sickness and diarrhoea, it was all in the public domain. She added: "They have agreed to show me the detailed statement given to the Government and if it implies that I am lying, I will be furious."

Mrs Hockley said she and her uncle - who is still at the hospital - felt slightly overwhelmed by the "media circus" now surrounding his treatment.

Meanwhile, the parents of 13-year-old James Scott-Faulkner, who waited in the casualty department for eight-and-a half hours with suspected meningitis, have also reacted angrily to the Prime Minister's comments.

James's father Nigel Scott said: "I'm surprised this has become so prominent but the Government and the hospital seem to think it is just going to go away. They seem to be pretending that nothing was wrong.

"My son was very sick and he waited a very long time to be seen. How would Tony Blair feel if his son was in the same position?" Mr Scott added: "The briefings seem to suggest that we're criticising the doctors and nurses and that is completely untrue.

"The staff who treated my son were fantastic - the problem was there just weren't enough of them. We are not trying to do down public services. It is not about the nurses or the doctors, it's about management."