A woman who was told to go to A&E during a critical incident at Nottingham’s hospitals said she saw people « in beds in every corridor » she came across.
Lucy Buckle, 38, said the scenes inside the Queen’s Medical Centre (QMC) on Tuesday were « frightening » and described the atmosphere as « very loud and very chaotic ».
Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) said the situation was improving but their hospitals were « still full ».
Speaking to the BBC, Buckle praised the staff and said: « They were amazing… everybody was so professional and they really did put me at ease. »
The trust said on Tuesday the emergency department at the QMC was designed to treat 350 patients a day, but the site was « regularly » seeing more than 500 patients.
Buckle suffered a dog bite and rang the NHS 111 service. She was then advised to go to A&E to get a tetanus jab and for someone to assess the wound.
She said she had heard about the critical incident at the hospital before being told to go there.
The 38-year-old added she was seen relatively quickly as she turned up bleeding.
« I was quite resistant to going because I knew how busy it was going to be but they said that was my best course of action, » she said.
« I was told that I had to go and not risk losing my finger, so I was apprehensive. »
« It was so busy in [A&E], very loud, very chaotic… as I was moved around the hospital to different departments, every corridor had people in beds and I’d say the majority of those were the elderly.
« It was really quite upsetting at times when I was waiting for an X-ray, I could hear people calling out in the corridor.
« You could see the nurses and the staff running around trying to get to everybody as quickly as possible, machines beeping from everywhere.
« I felt guilty for being there, I didn’t want to take up a space unless I absolutely had to but it was quite scary to think if I was in there for a heart attack or something really serious, » she said.
But Buckle praised staff who were on shift and said they dealt with the situation with a smile on their face despite coming into contact with « aggressive people ».
« They were amazing… everybody was so professional and they really did put me at ease.
« I couldn’t work in that environment and we all need to be very grateful to them for keeping going everyday, » she said.
A spokesperson for NUH said: « While our position is improving, we are still not where we need to be for our patients or staff and our hospitals are still full.
« We continue to take all actions we can, including opening more space, but you can help too by only attending A&E in an emergency. »
The trust also urged people to « collect patients promptly » when they are ready to be sent home.
Follow BBC Nottingham on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.
