‘Like a horrific board game’: 33 hours inside an NHS in crisis

Crammed wards, burnt-out GPs, patients waiting hours for ambulances - the health service is at breaking point

• NHS operating with no safety valve', hospital trust chief says

Inside the dimly lit command centre at King's College hospital, staff arriving for the first beds meeting of the day are greeted with a warning: the hospital is already under strain. So, we are under pressure this morning," the head of nursing, Naomi Hosking, informs colleagues stood around her in a semi-circle. No one registers surprise. We've got a lot of patients in ED [emergency department] with little space to see new patients, so we need to get some early movement."

It's 8.32am and ED - maximum capacity 60 - is packed, with 61 patients inside. The oldest is 98; the youngest 30 days old. Later, that pressure will intensify: the number of ED patients - in beds, on trolleys or in chairs - will more than double to 137.