Busy, noisy, highly stressful - and sometimes violent. This is the reality of A&E as the NHS gears up for what will be an incredibly difficult winter.
That much is clear from the experience of staff and patients at Royal Berkshire Hospital's emergency department.
Like all units, it is struggling to see patients quickly - more than a third of patients wait more than four hours.
The stress and frustration means tempers can easily boil over.
Receptionist Tahj Chrichlow says it can get so busy patients end up "packed like sardines".
"Sometimes people can be not as nice to us as we like," he adds, explaining how earlier this week the window of the reception office had been smashed by one angry person.
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine is warning delays are putting patients at risk.
Vice president Dr Ian Higginson says hospitals are "full to bursting".
"When our hospitals are full, we can't get patients out of our emergency departments.
"That means emergency departments become overcrowded and we see patients waiting for long periods on uncomfortable trollies in corridors or other rubbish places."
Dr Higginson says his colleagues are "very worried" and unable to deliver the care they would like to give to patients.
Source: BBC News, 8 December 2022
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