‘The system is broken’: Patients told to sit on chairs outside A&E

Sick patients have been forced to wait outside a hospital A&E department on chairs and wrapped only in blankets while being treated by nurses in shocking photographs and videos captured by one worried relative.

The situation, at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, is a regular occurrence, workers have told The Independent.

Footage shared with The Independent by a concerned member of the public shows one patient being cannulated, where a needle and intravenous line is inserted into a vein, while another patient has a monitor attached to track their vital signs.

Patients waiting outside the A&E were said to be extremely sick, with some vomiting and complaining of worsening symptoms.

“It was like something out of a horror movie,” said Maria, who has asked for her surname not to be used. “The system is completely broken from the beginning to the end..."

Addenbrooke’s Hospital has been under severe pressure for months with patients queuing out the door earlier this year and patients waiting over 24 hours for a bed. One mental health patient was detained in the back of an ambulance for over 12 hours.

It is just one symptom of a nationwide summer crisis in the NHS, with the military called in to support ambulance services that have reported their busiest months ever. A&E units are also witnessing record levels of attendance.

Patients are being made to wait so regularly outside Addenbrooke’s A&E that heat lamps have been installed on the walls outside one entrance, used by non-Covid patients. The hospital has also built a marquee as a permanent space for waiting patients.

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Source: The Independent, 28 September 2021