Long waits at hospitals across England, including for children with mental health issues, highlight growing pressure on the healthcare system.
Patients in accident and emergency departments (A&E) are enduring waits of nearly 50 hours for a bed, raising alarms about an impending winter crisis in the NHS. At Royal Preston Hospital in Lancashire, some patients have waited over 40 hours for a bed, with one individual spending 47 hours in the A&E. This situation is mirrored across England, with several hospitals declaring incidents and experiencing record waits for patients to see doctors. Disturbingly, some have waited over 13 hours in ambulances before being admitted. At Ipswich Hospital in Suffolk, a child with serious mental health problems had to wait almost 48 hours due to a lack of available specialist mental health beds for children, a problem reported across the NHS.
