Patients are facing up to 12 hours wait at A&E at Edinburgh’s largest hospital while others have been forced to close beds amid warnings of a major crisis caused by ‘crippling’ staff shortages.

Let us know what you think and join the conversation at the bottom of this article.

The numbers of patients attending A&E at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (ERI) rose to 400 a day last week – nearly fifteen per cent higher than the average in same months in previous years, Unison claimed.

Conditions at the emergency department have been likened to ‘a bad winter’ with high numbers of staff required to self-isolate while exhausted workers are also taking annual leave.

Patients face 12-hour wait at A&E as union warns of major crisis in Lothian hospitals

Let us know what you think and join the conversation at the bottom of this article.