I waited 81 hours in A&E during a mental health crisis (5 December 2023)

Summary

When Emma Powell experienced psychosis this year, she was told to go to A&E by the mental health crisis team. But she was left waiting for a bed for three and a half days, in conditions that only made her distress worse. In this article, Emma describes several experiences of trying to access crisis care for her schizoaffective disorder. She explains the impact of long waits at A&E and how they make her condition worse, with the overcrowded and busy environment causing overstimulation, and changing staff carrying out repetitive consultations causing confusion and exhaustion.