A nurse at England’s worst performing A&E department was allegedly caught looking at beach holidays on her work computer by a furious patient, who claims she was waiting more than five hours to be seen.
NHS bosses said the unnamed nurse was being ‘managed accordingly’ after she was allegedly snapped scrolling through pictures of sunny beach resorts while on the phone.
The picture covertly taken at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, Essex, was shared on a community Facebook page.
It comes amid record pressure on the overstretched NHS, with A&E waiting times, ambulance delays and bed occupancies rising to record levels.
The picture covertly taken at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, Essex, was shared on a community Facebook page
The nurse was slated online in the anonymous post shared by Spotted in Harlow.
The post read said: ‘Been in A&E for five hours… Meanwhile the nurse is booking her holidays.’
But dozens of people jumped to her defence commenting on the post: ‘With the hours they do, it might be the only chance she gets.
‘They work hard, they deserve a break.’
This comes after the hospital’s A&E department recorded the worst waiting times in England in December.
A spokesperson for The Princess Alexandra Hospital Trust said: ‘The trust was made aware of this issue immediately and can confirm the individual pictured in the photograph is being managed accordingly.’
It comes after NHS England announced two weeks ago all non-urgent operations would be cancelled until February.
The controversial move was slammed by experts, but was considered as the only way to cope with the mounting pressure placed on the health service.
The NHS crisis is now the forefront of a political row over funding, with furious medics arguing this entire situation was avoidable with extra money.
Prime Minister Theresa May and Health and Social Care Secretary Jeremy Hunt have been forced to publically apologise amid the crisis.
Bosses have also warned the health service is in the midst of a ‘watershed moment’ because it cannot currently deliver required levels of care.
A&E staff have spoke of their grave concerns of the ‘battlefield’ conditions they have faced this winter, revealing they are ‘ashamed’ over the ‘substandard care’.
Damning figures released on Thursday highlighted how poor the NHS is performing this winter, with A&E waiting times hitting their highest on record.

New data from NHS England shows the health service is operating at a poorer level than at the same point in 2016, which was branded a ‘humanitarian crisis’
Just 85.1 per cent of patients were seen within the four-hour time target set by Government – equaling last January’s record low – which was branded a ‘humanitarian crisis’ by the Red Cross.
And more than 300,000 patients were forced to wait for at least four hours in all A&E units – the highest amount since figures began in 2010.
Ambulance delays have also risen to record proportions, with more than 5,000 patients left stuck in the back of the vehicles waiting to be transferred to A&E.
While bed occupancy levels have hit their worst point yet this winter, with 24 trusts declaring they had no free beds at some point last week, the figures showed.
The ‘disappointing’ figures have been escalating rapidly in the past few week, and are only expected to get worse by the end of the month.
Furious A&E chiefs wrote to Prime Minister Theresa May earlier this week to inform her that patients are ‘dying prematurely’ in hospital corridors.
A leaked letter, written by the bosses of 60 casualty units, revealed there are ‘serious concerns’ about patient safety amid the ongoing crisis.
Chiefs warned just 45 per cent of patients had been seen within four hours in some A&E units during last week – well below recommended levels.
Names on the scathing letter included some of the bosses of the biggest and busiest casualty units across the country.
And thousands of patients are being urged to get on ferries and the Eurostar to visit a hospital in Calais as the worst winter ever tightens its grip on the NHS.
Calais Hospital, ran in partnership with health chiefs in south Kent, has launched a campaign encouraging patients to make the trip across the Channel for ‘fast care’

The data shows that over 5,000 extra beds were brought into service to cope with demand