The Royal Free in Hampstead

WATCH OUR ONLINE POLITICS CHANNEL, PEEPS, ON YOUTUBE

NHS workers have warned patients are trapped in the “mother of all gridlocks” at the Royal Free Hospital’s A&E – with some facing 24-hour waits in trolleys in corridors before being admitted.

Nurses in the emergency department are “doing their best” to cope but have “not seen it this bad” and are at breaking point, staff sources on the frontline told the New Journal.

The Hampstead hospital said this week it was “incredibly busy” and released figures showing a huge leap in attendances compared with last year. One staff member said: “I start and finish my shift, start again – and the same people are in the same place. It’s Groundhog Day, A&E style.

“The queue to get into the A&E from the walking wounded is like the queue to get into a Taylor Swift concert. Imagine a gigantic traffic jam. The mother of all gridlocks.”

A Free spokesperson said that on Monday and Tuesday this week 415 and 412 patients attended the A&E respectively. Last November, the average daily attendance was 346. The pressure is believed to be a product of the annual surge in patients which hits hospitals every the winter, and also Barnet Hospital being “on diversion” this week – a technical term for “full”.

The staff source added: “When there is an overflow of patients they are put on trolleys in the corridors. Patients have been on trolleys for over 24 hours.”

A “trolley wait” is the time between when a doctor in the hospital decides a patient needs to be admitted to the hospital and when they are actually admitted.  The waits are caused by lack of beds, years of under-investment and delays in discharging patients from the hospital.

The sources who spoke to the New Journal said Royal Free management had already moved to increase bed numbers in the A&E, by packing extra units into each bay.

They said: “The wards there are normally four patients to a bay. Such is the pressure for beds that they are now fitting in an extra one when they can.”

Another cause of the chaos is the long-standing trend of patients choosing to bypass help at their GP surgeries and going direct to A&E, knowing they will eventually be seen. There is always a surge of illnesses, infections and injuries – particularly among children – at this time of year as temperatures plunge.

The New Journal reported earlier this year on the decision to give staff body-worn cameras after a rise in “violent aggression” by patients at them.

The Royal Free London’s spokesperson said: “In common with other trusts in north London, our hospitals are incredibly busy and during the past week, we have seen a huge increase in the number of patients attending our emergency departments.

“We would like to thank our amazing staff who are working incredibly hard to ensure patients are seen and treated as quickly as possible. We are doing all we can to ensure patients on our wards are able to return home as quickly, and safely as possible, and we are expanding the use of our emergency care unit which treats and discharges patients on the same day.

“Unless it’s a serious or life-threatening emergency, please remember to contact your GP, call NHS 111 or visit 111.nhs.uk and you will be directed to the right place for your care.”

WATCH OUR ONLINE HISTORY CHANNEL, UNTOLD LONDON, ON YOUTUBE