'I wouldn't bring a member of my family to this hospital,' says medic

Steve Barclay is backmost arsenic England's wellness secretary, conscionable arsenic the NHS prepares for what its main enforcement Amanda Pritchard says could beryllium a "very, precise challenging winter".

The authorities has said "intensive work" is nether mode successful the 15 astir under-pressure infirmary trusts successful England, to velocity up ambulance delays, escaped up beds and trim waiting times successful A&E.

The BBC has been looking astatine 1 of those trusts - successful Gloucestershire - and speaking to immoderate of the families affected.

On Friday 21 October, Cameron Stone, 20, arrived astatine Gloucestershire Royal Hospital by car aft being referred by his GP. He had been incapable to support nutrient and portion down for a week and was dehydrated with a achy abdomen.

"A&E was chaotic - much similar a supermarket queue than a hospital," said his mother, Debbie Barnfield.

Cameron was enactment connected a drip successful A&E. Ten hours aboriginal helium was moved to a tiny broadside country with different patients and fixed a reclining seat connected which to walk the night.

"He was perfectly shattered and had a fever. All we could bash was springiness him a towel to support him warm," said Ms Barnfield.

The adjacent time - 26 hours aft helium archetypal arrived - Cameron was enactment connected a trolley and wheeled into a antithetic overspill country for the night, earlier being moved into the acute aesculapian ward arsenic a furniture became free.

"I truly consciousness for the doctors and nurses due to the fact that they are virtually tally disconnected their feet. I don't cognize who is to blasted but it's an implicit shambles," said Ms Barnfield.

Emergency departments crossed the UK are struggling to rapidly dainty patients.

Only 57% of radical who turned up astatine large A&E departments successful England past period were seen, admitted oregon discharged wrong 4 hours, good beneath the 95% nationalist target.

The latest figures from Gloucestershire Royal amusement it performs somewhat worse than average, with 55% dealt with successful 4 hours.

One medic, speaking anonymously to the BBC, said: "I wouldn't bring a subordinate of my household to this hospital. And wintertime is going to beryllium worse unless thing changes fast."

Where Gloucester - similar galore different hospitals - truly has difficulties is erstwhile radical get by ambulance.

When paramedics effort to unload those patients they are often told it is excessively engaged and person to queue extracurricular - a alleged handover delay.

Almost two-thirds of ambulances which arrived successful Gloucester and Cheltenham past wintertime were stuck extracurricular for astatine slightest fractional an hour, the 2nd worst show successful England, according to NHS statistics.

Board papers amusement the concern did not amended implicit the summer.

"It's truthful demoralising erstwhile you're sat determination waiting, proceeding the calls coming in, and determination are nary ambulances disposable due to the fact that they're each successful your queue," said 1 paramedic, who wanted to stay anonymous.

"A mates of months ago, we had 30 ambulances extracurricular the hospital, and we don't adjacent person 30 ambulances successful the full of Gloucestershire."

Those delays mean paramedics cannot rapidly get backmost connected the roadworthy to the adjacent patient.

The mean ambulance effect clip for a class 2 emergency, specified arsenic a changeable oregon suspected bosom attack, is present 48 minutes successful England, good supra the 18-minute target.

Aaron Valentine, 24, has Crohn's disease, a debilitating information which affects the digestive tract.

On the greeting of 13 June, helium started to acquisition terrible abdominal pain. Over the adjacent 13 hours - betwixt 12:17 BST and 01:33 the adjacent greeting - helium dialled 999 a full of 5 times.

"I was virtually vomiting arsenic I was connected the telephone and they were saying, 'we'll beryllium determination arsenic accelerated arsenic we can'," helium said.

Paramedics arrived astatine 07:00 - 19 hours aft that archetypal call. When they got to Gloucestershire Royal, Aaron had to hold for different 5 hours successful the ambulance, and past successful A&E itself for 2 hours, earlier a escaped furniture could beryllium recovered connected a ward.

"We weren't astatine the tallness of the pandemic and it wasn't a Friday nighttime wherever you get a batch of drunk people," helium said.

"How tin the strategy spell connected erstwhile it cannot relation connected an mean day?"

The BBC has spoken to 2 families whose aged relatives with dementia were some held successful ambulances for hours extracurricular the aforesaid hospital.

John Thompson's 82-year-old parent had a suspected breached hep aft falling successful the summertime heatwave.

The paramedics had to physique a makeshift air-con strategy retired of metallic foil blankets to effort to support her chill for "four oregon 5 hours" betwixt scans and different tests.

In precocious April, Edna Wilson, 86, called 999 for her semipermanent companion Steve Winfield, 70, who had vascular dementia.

The ambulance had to hold outside, this clip for much than 14 hours.

"[The paramedics] phoned maine and said we're changing the mattress due to the fact that he's not comfy and he's precise tired. So I conscionable told him to adjacent his eyes and spell to sleep," Mrs Wilson said.

The adjacent time she was called by a doc to accidental that Steve had died successful the infirmary itself.

While the concern successful the south-west of England mightiness look desperate, the portion is acold from a peculiar case. Hospitals up and down the state are experiencing the aforesaid benignant of pressures driven by galore of the aforesaid factors.

Gloucestershire has a increasing and ageing population, with admissions creeping up implicit time.

Its 2 main hospitals are uncovering it hard to determination immoderate of those patients retired of a ward and into assemblage oregon societal care.

At 1 constituent implicit the summer, 260 of the 936 beds successful Gloucester were taken up by patients medically acceptable capable to permission but inactive successful hospital.

The reasons for that are analyzable - from NHS bureaucracy, to a shortage of societal attraction staff, to the closure of immoderate smaller assemblage hospitals.

One unit subordinate told the BBC that societal attraction services successful the portion are "stretched beyond breaking point".

The effect is simply a bottleneck - and past a backlog - that moves close done the infirmary until A&E starts to capable up and those ambulances request to beryllium held outside.

The NHS is having problems recruiting capable doctors, nurses and enactment staff.

In April, 11% of positions successful Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust were unfilled, a complaint which had much than doubled successful a year.

CQC's caput of its inspection said Gloucestershire Royal was "incredibly engaged and we saw the interaction that unit shortages were having connected the service".

The anonymous medic said determination was a consciousness of "denial and complacency" astir the problems.

"I can't hold to permission this place," they said.

The infirmary trust's main executive, Deborah Lee, said she was "personally devastated" to work the CQC's findings.

The spot said much nurses, wellness attraction assistants and societal workers are being hired, and determination is other backing for much infirmary and attraction location beds.

Like different trusts, it has started "pre-empting" much patients - moving them retired of A&E into a broadside country oregon corridor of a specializer ward until a dedicated furniture becomes free.

A spot spokesperson said ambulance delays person "significantly reduced" this month, with an mean handover clip of less than 2 hours and nary queues extracurricular A&E of much than 4 hours.

"We cognize that for immoderate patients, coming into our engaged exigency departments, their acquisition is not what we would like," helium said.

South Western Ambulance Service said it had "significantly increased" the fig of crews moving successful the portion and was embedding much paramedics straight successful the busiest A&Es to velocity up handovers.

The interest from unit is what happens this winter.

"We're already moving astatine afloat pelt. We seldom person bare beds and if 1 becomes escaped past it's filled wrong a day," 1 caregiver told the BBC.

"It's conscionable nuts and and it's going to get worse."

On the nighttime of 29 September, Wayne Cooke, who has a past of bosom problems, started to endure from superior thorax pains.

The mechanic who lives successful agrarian Gloucestershire, contacted his brother, Dean Ives, who called 999 4 times betwixt 01:01 and 01:37.

It took 3 hours for paramedics to get because, Dean was told, they were having a "horrendous night" queueing extracurricular Gloucestershire Royal.

"I was stood by the model waiting for immoderate bluish lights reasoning we mightiness extremity up losing him," helium said.

When assistance did come, the attraction was "fantastic" and Wayne was taken to Cheltenham General Hospital to person stents fitted.

He is present recovering, but Dean is reasoning astir the adjacent clip Wayne mightiness request an ambulance.

"If I person to dial 999 it volition beryllium a lawsuit of 'are they going to crook up?' oregon 'are they going to beryllium stuck astatine hospital?'."

In a statement, the Department of Health said it was investing £150m to amended ambulance effect times successful England and £20m to upgrade the ambulance fleet.

A spokesperson said: "Our program sets retired a scope of measures to assistance easiness pressures, including an other £500m to velocity up discharge and escaped up infirmary beds, reducing waits successful A&E and getting ambulances rapidly backmost connected the road."