The current state of the NHS has resulted in gruelling wait times and treatment delays – and one woman suffering a mental health crisis had to wait eight-and-a-half days in A&E.

According to The Guardian, Louise* waited over a week before getting a bed in a psychiatric hospital, which the publication said is believed to be “the longest such wait seen in the NHS”.

Louise turned up at the A&E at St Helier hospital in Sutton, south London on 16 June, where she was looked after by police and security guards.

In a statement to Stylist, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust said their staff did “everything they could to ensure the patient was cared for” and checked in on her during her time there.

The hospital’s security team worked with police to ensure the patient was safe and she was given a mattress to sleep on as the hospital’s beds “are not accredited for use if a patient is at risk of self-harm”.

The paper reports that Louise became increasingly “dejected, despairing and desperate”, resulting in her mental health worsening over time.

She self-harmed by banging her head on the wall and attempted to leave twice as she was unsure of when she would start treatment.

She finally got a bed at an NHS psychiatric unit on Saturday 25 June.

Louise’s story merely highlights the shocking conditions many are facing within the NHS, whether it’s those requiring treatment or staff who are facing shortages and limited resources.

It follows a video that shows a nurse describing the situation her staff were facing, which went viral last month, as she spoke to people who were waiting for treatment.

“We’ve currently got 170 patients in the department,” she said. “That’s one seven zero, quite a few. There are 90 patients waiting to be seen at the moment. That’s nine zero. 90 of you are still waiting to be seen.” 

The nurse also revealed the amount of time she thought it would take for those waiting to be seen – and it wasn’t good news for anyone.

“Our current wait time for a doctor is seven-and-a-half hours,” she explained. “I will estimate that by the time I go home in the morning at eight o’clock, some of you will still be here waiting for a doctor, because the wait will get up to 12 or 13 hours, I will expect that.”

It follows after a new report also found more than 1,000 people are waiting more than 12 hours in A&E departments every day.

The study from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine showed an average of 1,047 people a day were waiting more than 12 hours in A&E.

Dr Adrian Boyle, vice president of the RCEM, said: “These figures are staggering and show the critical state of the urgent and emergency care system.”

In a statement, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust said: “We are sorry the patient was forced to wait with us longer than we would all like for a suitable mental health bed. Our staff did everything they could to make her as comfortable as possible in a single, private room while we regularly liaised with Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust to find suitable specialist accommodation, which is not provided at our hospitals.”

Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has been approached for comment. 

Image: Getty