ELDERLY patients wait on a row of trolleys in a crowded corridor in a picture that lays bare the deep crisis facing NHS hospital A&Es.
Around 15 were wheeled there because the department’s bed bays were all full — an increasing problem nationwide, says the Royal College of Nursing.
Carer Samantha Howes, 38, met with the “disturbing” sight at William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, Kent, where she had taken her daughter with suspected appendicitis.
The mum of two said: “I’ve never seen anything like it. It makes you emotional.
“A lot of these elderly folk looked fearful and confused. Some were being treated as people walked past. A few had their legs sticking out. Where’s the dignity in that?”
Samantha added: “Only one nurse was looking after 15 or so patients in that corridor and it wasn’t the only one like that.
“There were sick people everywhere. Even the children’s A&E waiting room was full.
“I feel for the nurses. They’re overworked and stressed. But it’s disgusting that people must wait in these conditions.”
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Trust apologised for the delays, blaming “high demand”.
Research shows that patients are more likely to die within a month if they spend more than half a day waiting in A&E.
There were 43,000 12-hour A&E waits a month on average last year compared with 8,272 for the whole of 2019.
More than 13,000 out of 100,000 hospital beds in England are blocked by people fit to go home but who cannot until proper care is arranged.
A Royal College of Nursing poll of 5,000 frontline staff found two-thirds treat patients in non-medical areas every day.
Offices, cupboards and car parks are being used.
Patients are dying in waiting rooms and public areas due to delays.
RCN general secretary Nicola Ranger said: “The scale of this is absolutely the worst it has ever been.”
Analysis found Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust was the worst in England for emergency waits.
