PRESSURE on overstretched A&E departments in our region is affecting patient dignity and safety, according to the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).

The Yorkshire and Humber branch of the nurses’ union said more and more patients were facing long waits in ambulances or hospital corridors, treatment in inappropriate settings or being moved or discharged in the early hours of the morning.

Glenn Turp, RCN regional director for the Yorkshire and Humber region said: “RCN members from across the region – from Hull, Leeds, Rotherham, Sheffield to York – are telling us that A&E departments are experiencing tremendous pressures.

“Nurses are extremely concerned that patient safety and dignity is being compromised with patients being nursed on trollies, in corridors or in other inappropriate areas, with no room for them in A&E.

"Pressure on A&E has increased as hospitals cannot discharge patients to the community. This means that there is a constant lack of beds available for emergency departments to move patients on to.”

In March, The Press reported how ambulance paramedics had been forced to wait in corridors for up to two-and-a-half hours at York Hospital as overstetched A&E staff coped with the demand.

However the problem is not just confined to York, according to the RCN, who say the NHS is now “running to capacity”.

A spokeswomen for York Hospital said the hospital had experienced a “particularly busy winter”, with an increase in admissions and a prolonged norovirus problem.

She said: “This is a picture that is replicated up and down the country, and we are working hard with our commissioners, local authorities and other providers to improve the way all parts of the system operate and to work towards ensuring that only those patients who need acute care are in hospital.

“Patients in A&E are treated according to clinical need, and those requiring urgent attention are seen promptly, however when we are facing high demand those with minor or less urgent needs may find that they are waiting longer.”