Patients are reporting 16-hour wait times at one A&E department in Manchester today as hospital bosses warned they are currently experiencing 'high demand.'
One parent, who took her child to the emergency department at Wythenshawe Hospital wrote on Facebook that she'd first arrived at 7pm last night and was still waiting to be seen at 7am this morning (December 14).
Another woman wrote: "Heads up….waiting time at A & E at Wythenshawe has just gone up to 16 hours." Responding to her post, one woman added: "I went in at 7pm didn't get seen till 5.30am."
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Bosses at Manchester University Foundation Trust, who run Wythenshawe Hospital and Manchester Royal Infirmary, confirmed they are 'currently experiencing high demand for our services in our emergency departments' across the region. They warned that whilst staff are 'working hard' to assess and treat patients as quickly as possible, there will be patients who will need to wait longer.
In a post on Facebook this morning, one mum wrote: "Just a warning if anyone was contemplating going to A&E at Wythenshawe. Before you do try and exhaust all other options first.
"I got here with my son last night at 7pm, it’s now 7.15am and we’ve still not been seen by a doctor! I hear of the struggles the NHS is under but to see it for myself is really awful and incredibly sad!
"No complaints to the staff as I know they’re all doing what they can with what they have! After 8 hours waiting we did get a cup of tea and biscuits made by a nurse but really just to say if you have to come, expect enormous delays!"
Today's chaos comes ahead of planned nursing strikes tomorrow (December 15) and next Tuesday (December 20) as thousands of workers are set to walk out.
"Front-door" urgent care assessment and admission units including A&E are expected to see Christmas Day-level staffing, while the same for paediatric-only A&E departments are fully exempt from strike action.
Ambulance workers, including paramedics, are also set to take part in industrial action later this month, which is also expected to have a major knock-on effect to NHS services.
It comes after the service's medical director, Chris Grant, issued a stark warning to patients on Monday night (December 12) following major pressure on the region's service.
A spokesperson for MFT said: "We are currently experiencing high demand for our services in our emergency departments across MFT. Our teams continue to work extremely hard to assess and treat patients as quickly as possible, however there will be occasions when some patients may need to wait longer, and we thank them for their support during these challenging times.
"If you have a minor ailment, it may be more suitable for you to use other NHS services such as pharmacists, GPs, dentists, Walk-in services, telephoning NHS 111, or using NHS Choices online: www.nhs.uk."
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