Hospitals ‘are facing a state of emergency’

WARDS full, one in four ambulances queuing for more than an hour at A&E and staff working so hard to keep things going they are neglecting their own health and families.

This is the current state of Greater Manchester’s NHS.

Medics are doing everything they can to serve patients, but they cannot cope with such immense pressure.

A statement from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine has declared a national ‘state of emergency’ and said urgent action is needed. It said A&E departments face much more than just ‘pressure’ and that patients are suffering.

Latest figures show that last week at Pennine Acute NHS Trust – which runs Rochdale Infirmary, North Manchester General, Royal Oldham, and Fairfield hospitals – almost 120 ambulances waited more than an hour to hand over patients at A&E.

There were also delays for paramedics arriving at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust.

Royal Albert Edward Infirmary was so overrun bosses urged people to stay away from A&E unless in an absolute emergency.

They warned that only the most serious walk-in cases would be prioritised, and that patients could face waits of up to 12 hours.

NHS data showed that 26.5 per cent of ambulances arriving at the hospital between January 1 and 7 had wait more than an hour – the highest proportion in the country.

Delays have a knockon effect on the ambulance service.

Crews cannot leave patients and are therefore unable to get back on the road to attend ●●Latest figures have revealed the immense pressure on the Pennine Acute NHS Trust which runs North Manchester General, Royal Oldham and Fairfield Hospitals and Rochdale Infirmary other emergencies.

And pressures do not end at A&E.

Figures also reveal that last week, some Greater Manchester hospitals had virtually no free beds.

At Tameside Hospital, on average, 99.2pc of general and acute beds were full each day – up 1.2pc from the week before.

Nationally, more than 5,000 ambulances waited more than an hour outside A&E from January 1 to 7 – one in 20 arrivals – and beds were 95pc full.

The shocking figures were released as Unison revealed how increased pressures on NHS services are causing staff to feel ‘frustrated and demoralised’, working long hours and missing breaks.