- 30 hospitals have declared major incidents and cancelled routine surgery because they were so busy during the busy winter season
- Some nurses blame the GP and 111 helpline for the rising numbers of patients who are not seriously ill but are turning up in A&E
- Elderly patients are considered less urgent than cases of road traffic accidents, brain haemorrhages and heart attacks
Casualty units have become ‘places of terror’ for the elderly, senior nurses have warned. They say patients are being abandoned on trolleys in corridors in mid-summer, when hospitals should be less busy. The so-called ‘winter pressures’ are now carrying on year-round with a steady stream of patients arriving. And it is the elderly who are most affected, with many routinely having to wait up to 20 hours on trolleys.
This winter was one of the worst on record for A&E units, with 30 hospitals declaring major incidents and cancelling routine surgery because they were so busy. But nurses say the crisis is continuing, with patients turning up after failing to get an appointment with their GP or being referred inappropriately by the 111 helpline.
It is the elderly who wait the longest, however, because they are less urgent than cases of road traffic accidents, brain haemorrhages and heart attacks.
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Filed under: A&E, Elderly, Hospital, NHS, A&E, crisis, major incidents, terror
