BBC goes inside hospital battling unprecedented winter pressures

"Can that chap sit, bash we think?" asks Dr Raj Paw, a elder advisor successful the exigency section astatine Warwick Hospital.

He is speaking astir a diligent successful his 90s who was brought successful aft collapsing astatine home, wherever helium was recovered acold and confused.

Now helium is stable. Could that unfastened up a bed?

"If we tin get him to beryllium past helium could spell into 1 of the chairs, and that would escaped up his bed," Dr Paw says.

This is the benignant of speech doctors and nurses are having successful hospitals up and down the the state arsenic a terrible flu play puts the NHS nether pressure.

More than a twelve hospitals person declared captious incidents - including immoderate of those considered among the champion successful the country.

Earlier this week, the BBC visited Warwick Hospital. It is tally by the South Warwickshire trust, which is 1 among one of the apical rated successful the state and has prided itself connected the creaseless moving of its 4 hospitals.

But the caseload has been overwhelming this week.

Warwick Hospital has 375 beds and astatine 1 constituent the predicted request was astir 100 much than that. For the archetypal clip ever, it's had to state a captious incidental - the highest alert level successful the NHS.

The BBC was determination erstwhile infirmary administrators made the call. Declaring a captious incidental is simply a informing to the section wellness strategy that things are getting bad. Often, it frees up hospitals to redeploy doctors and make caller impermanent ward space.

Over a two-day period, the BBC saw doctors and nurses doing conscionable that: uncovering stop-gap solutions to dainty patients successful immoderate harmless settings could beryllium established.

With exigency departments overflowing, sick radical request to beryllium treated successful the chairs they're sitting in.

Others person had to hold successful ambulances parked extracurricular exigency units for hours earlier they could adjacent beryllium taken inside.

One specified diligent is Percy, who is successful his 80s and experiencing liver failure. He came to infirmary due to the fact that helium had been feeling sick and had mislaid value implicit caller weeks.

Dr Arun Jeyakumar, a elder registrar connected the ward, is 1 of the doctors sent retired to cheque connected patients similar Percy.

Hopping into the ambulance, helium has a little consultation with him. He tells Percy that everything is being done to get him into the hospital.

Percy smiles backmost weakly, resigned to the wait.

The paramedic who brought him to the infirmary is besides resigned: he's seen plentifulness of cases similar Percy's this season.

He turns up the heating successful the backmost of the ambulance and sits down again arsenic Dr Jeyakumar hops retired and closes the doors.

Back successful the exigency department, doctors, nurses and consultants sermon however to marque abstraction for caller arrivals.

Beds are astatine an implicit premium successful the hospital. So galore patients person arrived that a country adjacent the ambulance entranceway has been acceptable up for radical considered "fit to sit".

Every seat is occupied.

"It isn't ideal," 1 doc says. "But it is safe."

Porters person to instrumentality beds done this unfastened space, betwixt patients being treated successful chairs and nurses kneeling connected the level to region cannulas. Drip stands are shuffled backmost and distant to marque room.

We spot a caregiver taking a patient, who is inactive attached to a drip, to the loo successful a wheelchair.

She leaves the seat successful the corridor and helps the diligent in. A porter comes and goes to determination the vacant wheelchair.

The caregiver dashes backmost out. "That's my wheelchair," she cries.

We rotation it backmost to her and she starts to laugh. "You can't instrumentality your oculus disconnected them for a 2nd oregon different diligent volition beryllium successful it," she says - lone fractional joking.

Elsewhere, Percy makes it it from the ambulance to the exigency department, aft a 3 hr wait.

"It's getting worse," helium says, wincing arsenic helium closes his eyes - but it volition beryllium different 12 hours earlier Percy is admitted to a ward.

When we spot him yet being moved, helium is contorted successful his furniture from the pain, clutching onto a sick bowl.

Dr Paw's archetypal occupation during his rounds is to cheque the cubicles to spot who helium tin determination disconnected beds.

He has a afloat waiting country conscionable beyond the doors and 4 ambulances banked up outside.

A pistillate successful the past cubicle helium visits is crying. Dr Paw receives an update from a caregiver connected her information and orders immoderate morphine.

"You're successful the close place," helium tells the patient. "We'll benignant retired your pain."

Dr Paw tells us: "The radical that travel successful present are sicker than they utilized to be. And present we are, trying to get them retired quicker."

He past moves connected to a antheral who was admitted for a bosom onslaught 2 days agone but is nary longer receiving progressive treatment. Can helium safely beryllium moved, Dr Paw wonders.

"These are the decisions we're being forced to make," helium tells the BBC.

"I'm considering moving a bosom onslaught diligent to the waiting country truthful I tin person his cubicle."

Another diligent Dr Paw saw the erstwhile time is inactive waiting for a furniture successful the ward much than 24 hours later.

"It's rubbish. It's not what should happen," Dr Paw says. "People shouldn't beryllium spending 27, 28 hours successful an exigency department."

At 1 constituent during our clip astatine the infirmary we were taken to a slope of screens displaying statistics.

It showed that patients successful the exigency section were waiting astir 30 hours for a furniture and determination were six ambulances queued up outside. One had been determination for 4 hours.

"It's the worst I've ever seen it," 1 doc says.

South Warwickshire Trust has since lifted Tuesday's captious incidental declaration - however, unit archer the BBC they inactive look a akin level of pressure.