Staff at hospital which ignored dying man for six hours posed as Hollywood stars for calendar shoot

Smiling for the camera, these are staff at the hospital where a dying man was not seen for six hours - posing for a calendar in which they mock waiting times.

Stewart Fleming, 37, was left doubled up in agony despite arriving in casualty with a letter from his GP saying he needed immediate attention.

After he was finally seen on December 15, he rapidly deteriorated. He died two days after Christmas from a viral illness.

Fooling around: But staff might now regret joking about waiting times at the hospital in their charity calendar

Cardiology assistant practitioner Leanne Thomas dressed up as Baywatch's Pamela Anderson

Yesterday, his family questioned the hospital's decision to release the charity calendar.

Mr Fleming's sister-in-law, Lesley Mavin, 39, said that she did not want to criticise efforts to raise money for a good cause.

However, she added: 'Their main job is to be a hospital.'

The calendar was launched at Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham, Kent on December 17, and features doctors and nurses dressed up as stars from Fawlty Towers, Baywatch, Open All Hours and Pirates of the Caribbean.

In one picture a nurse and two medics pose next to a sign that reads: 'Waiting time 26.5 seconds!'.

In another, a member of staff in a swimsuit clutches a first aid kit and pretends to help a drowning man in a hospital bath.

While there is no suggestion any of the staff involved in the shooting of the calendar have behaved improperly, patients yesterday said they felt that its publication was in poor taste.

The Medway hospital has previously come under the spotlight for a string of blunders.

These include the body of a dead patient being left undiscovered on a toilet for 12 hours, and the case of 31-year-old Peter Cura, who died after Medway medics failed to spot his cancer despite 37 visits to the hospital.

'Jack Sparrow' poses for February (left). Staff took on the classic sitcom Fawlty Towers for January

Nurse Christina Hemsley and patient Tanya Outen launched the calendar to raise funds for the hospital's cancer unit.

Miss Hemsley said: 'We came up with the idea of a calendar full of celebrity look-a-likes because there are so many people at the hospital who closely resemble celebrities.

'Everyone was really supportive and they were more than happy to be photographed for such a good cause.'

Stewart Fleming pictured by his wife three hours into his six-hour wait at Medway Maritime Hospital

Stewart Fleming (centre) pictured with his wife Sarah, daughter Lauren, 14, and son Matthew, 12

But one outpatient, who did not want to be named, said yesterday: 'The simple fact that medical staff took time out of their day to pose up for these rather ridiculous photos must grate with the family of Stewart Fleming and anyone else who has an issue with the hospital.'

Mr Fleming's GP, Dr Tamil Selvan, yesterday called for an inquiry into why his patient was left at the back of the queue - despite having a note specifying that he needed rapid admission.

Dr Selvan, 51, said: 'I was very disappointed to hear what happened, and I sympathise with the family.

The Daily Mail's headline on Monday

'As a GP, I am trained to recognise when a patient is acutely ill, or suffering from a condition that may have serious consequences.

'Doctors in primary care (GPs) endeavour to do the best they can, but when we refer patients to hospital for whatever reason, we expect the full support of our colleagues in secondary care.'

Mr Fleming, 37, of Rainham, Kent was married to Sarah, 42.

They had two children, 14-year-old Lauren and 12-year-old Matthew.

Mrs Fleming has criticised her husband's wait for treatment for his mystery illness.

She said: 'He could have had all those hours on a monitor and they might have been able to stop the virus.'