Hospitals across Oxfordshire have reached crisis point, with seasonal ailments and accidents adding to the burden, writes Zahra Borno. On Monday, we joined the late shift in the accident and emergency department at Oxford's world-famous John Radcliffe Hospital, to find out what life is like on the front line.

*1pm: The shift clocks on. The early shift has had a busy morning. Every cubicle is already full and eight patients are lined up on trolleys in a make-shift over-flow ward, right by the entrance door, called the Goldfish Bowl (GFB). There are three patients on trolleys in the corridors. The early shift gives a brief outline of each case as they hand them over. They speak very quickly - time is at a premium. Cases admitted include Sheila Stone, 56, of Oxford, who comes in suffering from breathing difficulties and chest pains, and John Redford, 45, of Abingdon, with suspected internal bleeding.

All the cases are assessed by a nurse, either in the major or minor section of the department, within a few minutes of arrival. They are now waiting to be seen by a doctor or for a bed in a ward.

Sister Julie Stockbridge, who co-ordinates the nursing staff on the late shift, says: "When you turn up you've got no idea what you are going to come across.

"Of course I hate seeing the patients lined up in the corridor on trolleys. I wouldn't want my father to be nursed in a corridor, but we have no choice because of the pressure the department is under. "We try to be as sensitive as we can - that's all we can do."

I feel like an extra on the TV drama Casualty and decide to become a nurse.

*1.30pm: Ralph White, 83, of Appleton, is brought in by paramedics after collapsing at home. He comes in on a trolley which is lined up in the GFB.

An Arctic blast of cold air comes in every time the door is opened, but he's given an extra blanket.

*2pm: John Redford, who was admitted at 6am, has just had an endoscopy to check for internal bleeding. He has been on a trolley since he arrived and is now waiting for a bed on a ward. *2.30pm: Chief executive John MacDonald turns up at A and E to talk to staff about how they're coping with the current crisis. Only problem is that not all the staff can stop work and see him. Ralph White has two blood tests.

*3.30pm: A steady flow of patients, mostly admitted by GPs, turn up at the Major side of the department. Sister Stockbridge gives them an instant assessment and works out how much of a priority they are.

She says: "We're up against it again today but luckily so far we haven't had any serious traffic accidents."

*4pm: Sheila Stone is found a bed in a ward. She was admitted at 9.45am and has been given oxygen throughout the day. She was one of the lucky ones and has been in a cubicle for several hours. This will be the second Christmas she has been in hospital. She says: "It's been a very long day. The nurses are so good. They're rushed off their feet but they've been brilliant."

Sister Stockbridge is expecting ten more patients who have been referred by their GPs.

She says: "The situation is looking awful but not desperate." Several patients have been found beds and have left the department so the corridors are fairly clear. Ralph White is off to X-ray.

*4.15pm: A flurry of admissions arrive. I wonder where they're all going to go. Paramedics bring in a young man who has smashed his new car into a tree. He's lying on a trolley in a neck brace and swearing his head off. A young woman with chest pains is admitted. *4.30pm: Ralph White is found a bed on a ward and leaves A and E after spending four hours there.

A 30-year-old man, from east Oxford, is having his ankle bandaged. He slipped and fell on the ice and after being assessed and X-rayed he has been waiting five hours to have a bandage put on.

*5.15pm: An 18-year-old girl comes in asking for the morning after pill. Charge Nurse John Taylor says the department doesn't distribute it and points her in the direction of an emergency contraception clinic in east Oxford.

He says: "Every case that comes through that door is different. I've been doing it for years but I still enjoy it." The man has the patience of a saint. *6pm: A 74-year-old North Leigh woman is admitted after being mauled by her Jack Russell, called Trixie, this morning.

Her leg has been bandaged by her GP but the blood has soaked through and is pouring down her leg. I suddenly realise I feel queasy and am about to faint. Maybe I won't become a nurse after all.

The waiting time for assessment has soared to 45 minutes but Charge Nurse Taylor's bedside manner remains relaxed.

Staff are starting to look tired. Most of them haven't had a break. *6.05pm: A classic Casualty moment. Paramedics burst through the door pushing a trolley with a 49-year-old woman, who has just suffered a brain haemorrhage.

The corridors are cleared while she is rushed into resuscitation area B where the consultant and nursing team is waiting for her.

*7pm: A 16-year-old girl turns up with a sprained ankle. She missed the bottom step when going down the stairs. It doesn't seem like an emergency to me.

She is told the waiting time to see a doctor is around five hours for non-urgent cases. She agrees to wait and hops away from the triage desk. The woman brought in with a brain haemorrhage is taken to intensive care unit for the night.

*8pm: A two-year-old with a chesty cough is brought in by his mother.

I see the 16-year-old who came in an hour earlier walking through the waiting area. She seems to have had a miraculous recovery.

*8.45pm: For the first time in ages Sister Stockbridge gets away on time. To me it appears as if she's had a frantic day but she says it's just been pretty average. A and E has seen about 150 patients this shift. There are six spare beds on wards in hospital so most of the casualty patients at the moment will be there all night.

Sister Stockbridge says: "The time goes in a flash.

"When I go home at the end of the day I am satisfied I've done the best I could for my patients. I love my job."

She adds: "The conditions are difficult but I wouldn't do anything else."

Story date: Thursday 23 December

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