Man says daughter faced 30-hour A&E wait in chair

A father said his poorly daughter had to endure a "horrible 30-hour wait in a chair" in a hospital's A&E department.

Derek said his daughter got to Warrington Hospital at about 21:00 GMT on Friday and finally got a bed between 03:00 and 04:00 on Sunday.

"It was horrible," Derek, from Warrington, said. "It was so upsetting."

Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said it was experiencing "extremely high demand".

The 83-year-old told BBC Radio Merseyside: "My daughter arrived at nine o'clock on Friday night and didn't get a bed until about three or four in the morning on Sunday.

"I haven't been able to sleep for worrying."

He said: "The whole system needs scrapping and restarting. It's not working; it hasn't worked for years.

"It's a terrible situation but you can't blame the staff; they're run off their feet."

Derek added he also spotted 18 ambulances queuing outside the hospital on Sunday.

Daniel Moore, chief operating officer and deputy chief executive at Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals, said: "Our emergency department, like other hospitals across the country, continues to experience extremely high demand, with a significant increase in attendances.

"Our team are working hard to assess and treat patients as quickly and effectively as possible to reduce delays, prioritising our most unwell patients first."

He said: "Our position today, compared to the weekend, has seen an improvement in ambulance handover times.

"We'd like to reassure patients that all our services remain open, and we have robust winter plans in place to maintain services over the challenging winter period."

Mr Moore urged people to only attend the hospital if it is a medical emergency.

"Unless it's a life-threatening or severe illness or injury, we urge people to contact their GP, attend their local pharmacy, urgent treatment centre or call NHS 111 for advice and care."

He said people with life-threatening illnesses or injuries should continue to dial 999.

"Anyone who arrives at the emergency department will still receive medical care but may have a lengthy wait as we must prioritise those in greatest need of emergency treatment," Mr Moore added.

Health and Social Care Secretary of State Wes Streeting said in the House of Commons earlier: "The NHS is experiencing a period of significant winter challenge.

"The number of beds occupied by people with flu has been much higher than the number last year, and is continuing to rise.

"An average of just over 4,200 beds were occupied by flu patients at the end of December, surpassing the peak of about 2,500 reported last year."

He added: "We monitor the situation closely, working hand in hand with NHS England and care leaders, and I continue to chair weekly meetings with senior leaders in social care, NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency."

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