A struggling A&E told patients they had no beds in the hospital and would face waits of 13 hours, The Independent has learned.
NHS staff at Harlow A&E, run by Princess Alexandra Hospital Trust, warned patients on Monday: “We’ve got 170 patients in the department, there are 90 patients waiting to be seen at the moment…our current wait time for a doctor is seven and half hours I will estimate by the time I go home in the morning at 8 ‘clock some of you will still be waiting because the waits will get up to 13 hours.
“There are currently no beds in the trust we’re trying to make space if we can but if people are admitted there’s a chance they’ll stay in A&E overnight.
“We will do our best to make you comfortable but please don’t expect you will be going direct to a ward because that might not happen.”
The staff member asked relatives to leave as the department was so busy.
The video was posted on Twitter and the trust has confirmed to the Independent it was taken on Monday.
Last week the Independent published warnings from emergency care leaders that pressures on the NHS would become worse immediately after the bank holiday weekend.
Data uncovered in May showed thousands of patients were waiting more than 12 hours from arriving in A&E in the first three months of the year.
Speaking with The Independent an emergency department consultant from the Midlands said they were “fed up”.
He added: “It’s just so unfair on patients and staff. The best ones are burning out and wanting to leave. The only way to survive seems to be to stop caring/trying It’s just so unfair on patients and staff. The best ones are burning out and wanting to leave. The only way to survive seems to be to stop caring/trying”
The Princess Alexandra Hospital is currently under a warning from the Care Quality Commission due to staffing within its emergency department, according to the trust’s June board papers.
Its papers added: “We continue to see unprecedented and sustained demand for our urgent and emergency care (UEC) services and the recent pattern of increasing variability in daily attendance numbers continues. Our Red ED remains open for respiratory based cases and we continue to work closely with our HCP colleagues to further enhance our Urgent Treatment Centre and our streaming and triaging processes within the ED.”
Stephanie Lawton, chief operating officer at The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust, said: “We are currently experiencing extremely high demand for our emergency care services and have seen a significant increase in attendances in our emergency department.
“Our teams are working hard to assess and treat patients as quickly and effectively as possible to reduce delays, prioritising those in most clinical need.
“The public can help us to ease pressures by using the NHS 111 service for healthcare advice in non-urgent cases. As ever, please continue to call 999 or attend the emergency department for urgent and life-threatening emergencies.”
