A woman was left for three hours on a trolley in Winchester's accident and emergency department, according to patient watchdogs taking part in a nationwide survey.

Winchester and Central Hampshire Community Health Council said the 32-year-old was waiting for a bed in the A&E department three hours and ten minutes after it had been decided to admit her.

It is not known how long her total wait was before a bed became available on a hospital ward, as the CHC did not track her case-and neither did the hospital.

But hers was the longest wait in a snapshot survey of the casualty department of the Royal Hampshire County Hospital last Monday at 4.30pm. The hospital was on orange alert at the time of the check, which meant that few beds were available and none was empty.

The emergency medical assessment unit was also full. On the same day, it was found that a 51-year-old man with cardiovascular problems had been waiting four hours and 50 minutes to be seen by a consultant.

The man had been assessed by an A&E doctor, who had decided that no immediate treatment was needed. He was waiting for a specialist to decide whether to admit him.

The CHC found 27 people in the A&E department. Of these, 11 were on trolleys, six in observation beds and 10 were on chairs.

All had been had been assessed by either nurses or doctors. Some awaited results of scans or X-rays, while others waited to be reviewed by specialist doctors.

One woman recovering from a drugs overdose had been on a bed in A&E for 13 hours and 20 minutes. She had been assessed by a psychiatrist and judged fit to go home.

Said CHC chairman, Lynda Bannister: "We were concerned to see the department under such pressure. It is unfortunate that a number were waiting so long.

"Waiting for a bed is always distressing. Ideally, the maximum wait should be an hour after the decision to admit."

But she was "reassured" by figures showing that fewer than 2% of patients waited more than four hours for a bed in the first three months of 2002.

"We appreciate this was a particularly busy day and will continue to monitor the figures for the A&E department throughout the year."

Christine Allen, CHC joint chief officer, said Winchester compared well with the longest waits across the country. Worst case was four days at a Liverpool hospital.

But she said it was worrying the hospital was on orange alert in mid-May. On the day of the spot check, 70 hospital patients were registered as delayed discharge because there were no suitable care home places.

The CHC is concerned bed-blocking puts extra pressure on A&E departments.