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Visit A&E in Manchester at the moment and you’ll hear the quiet hum of collective despair among those waiting. How long have you been here? Has anyone even moved? Conversations aren’t about symptoms, they’re not generally occupied with worry or reassurance - thoughts are all focused on The Wait.

The Manchester Evening News has heard reports that the wait for a bed in some areas is approaching 50 hours. Spending two days in a boiling hot A&E waiting to be seen is unlikely to make you feel any better, and it’s a profound failure of our health service.

A&E is packed to the rafters, there’s limited space to sit and the attendees are a chaotic mixture of people with severe, urgent conditions and others who simply have no option but to come to hospital because they can’t get in

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