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It comes as new data shows that GP waiting times fell in December for the second consecutive month, with the share of people managing to secure an urgent appointment on the same day rising from 69% to 74%.

And separate figures found ambulance handover delays outside hospitals in England have dropped to their lowest level this winter, though one in five patients are still waiting at least half an hour to be transferred to A&E teams.

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Sarah's mother ended up staying for an extended time in hospital and 'dying for no reason'

Sarah Templeton said her mother had been admitted for treatment for a punctured lung, six fractured ribs and a damaged spleen following a fall.

Her mother was in there for four weeks before Ms Templeton was told her loved one could be moved to a discharge and assessment centre.

But she was not released and she ended up getting a chest infection, flu and pneumonia, and then "we sat holding her hand while she died on 30 December".

Ms Templeton said: "She didn't need to die. She was perfectly well for three weeks. She was bored. She wanted to come out of that hospital."

She said she could not fault the "amazing" medics but added that two doctors on separate occasions told her: "I'm really sorry Sarah, but this is what happens when you come into hospital now.

"If you come in and you're elderly, or you've got a lower immune system, you will get a chest infection, you will get the flu, you will get pneumonia, and you will die. I said to them: 'Why didn't you tell us that because would have broken her out of here'.

"We would not have left her there. We thought she was in the best place for seven weeks. She died gasping for breath. There was nowhere to take her."

Ms Templeton said the hospital would not let her take her home as she had to be under the responsibility of the local authority. "But the local authority didn't look after her. She ended up staying and dying for no reason."

Janet had a 37-hour wait in A&E - 'I was bleeding all over my nightdress'

A former practice manager in primary care, Janet said she had two spinal surgeries within 14 days last year and had only just been discharged after the second procedure when she suffered complications and was taken back to hospital in an ambulance.

She said that after about six hours she had a "lot of tests" and had a cannula (thin tube) inserted in her arm, before being moved to another part of A&E which was "overflowing with patients".

Janet, from Lancashire, added that she felt "so sorry" for the nurses and the doctors. "Honestly, it was dreadful. There weren't enough staff," she said.

She went on to say that during the night in hospital she felt like she needed to use the toilet but realised her catheter bag was "full and overflowing".

"I got urine on my nightdress, on the sheets. Also I tried to take my dressing gown off because it was wet with urine and I pulled a cannula out of my arm.

"I was bleeding all over my nightdress. I was shouting desperately for a nurse to come and help me and got to the stage where I got myself up and sat on the edge of the trolley and started to cry."

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Amy was moved to a different hospital during labour

Amy, from Essex, says she had originally planned to go to a midwifery-led unit but during her pregnancy it shut down due to staffing issues.

She ended up having to go to her nearest hospital, which is an hour away, but due to her not going there for appointments she was sent to a day assessment unit rather than the maternity ward to give birth to her daughter.

"I actually ended up nearly having her in the corridor because there wasn't anywhere for me to go," she said.

Describing her maternity care, she added: "After I had her, I was due to be stitched up but I was actually left for about three hours after having her due to a shift change.

"But the lady who did end up coming in to do my stitches apologised profusely. It was no fault of her own. She was honest, which I appreciated. She just said, 'I'm really sorry'."

Anastasia left on waiting list for three years - 'I feel like I'm losing the will to live'

Anastasia, from Leeds, has been waiting for an appointment for three years.

She has cerebral palsy and is now suffering with a urology issue.

"I feel like I'm losing the will to live. I have a urological condition and I just want it fixed. I'm not receiving any social care, I'm not receiving any support.

"Unfortunately, I come from a care background from no fault of my own because my mother put me in an institution when I was two weeks old - the support isn't there."

She explained that she was once called up for an appointment to have the procedure, but they did not realise she had cerebral palsy.

"It all often depends on who you speak to, and I don't feel listened to," she added.

"I don't know what to do, and what worries me is that the situation for me and others could get worse."

Ezra 'can't praise NHS staff enough'

Cancer patient Ezra, from Lincoln, said he "can't praise enough" those who looked after him and the fast turnaround between when he was first diagnosed and then had surgery.

Ezra said he had a PSA blood test which can help detect prostate cancer.

He had a raised level and was asked to come into his GP surgery the day after the result came in, and had an examination.

Ezra said he was then put on to a two-week cancer care wait and within a fortnight he had an MRI scan at his local hospital. He also had a biopsy and a bone scan, and a urologist talked him through the whole procedure for his cancer.

He asked if the surgery could be after Christmas and he went into his local hospital early this month.

Recalling his time there, Ezra said: "One night about 3am, a nurse came up to me. I think it was a 10-bed ward and all the men were sleeping. Very quietly with a little light on, so not to disturb me, she did my blood pressure, my oxygen levels. These people, they're not heroes, they're professionals. And I really can't praise them enough."

Shirley says NHS staff 'saved my life so many times'

Shirley from Devon has been in hospital for the last 10 days in the midst of nurses going on strikes.

She said she "supports the staff 100%" and added they were "not getting what they deserve".

Speaking about the treatment she has received from NHS workers over the years, she said: "They saved my life so many times these last 10 years.

"Last month, I was in with heart problems and they saved my life there. It was serious. I can't fault them."

She said she even asked her local MP to do a shift with staff in hospitals "so he could see how they work".

Carole says 'all the nurses were fabulous' after her 90-year-old father was picked up by ambulance and treated within five and a half hours

Carole, from Sheffield, said her dad fell on the ice last Friday and broke his leg.

She says the ambulance was called at around 9.45am and by 2.30pm that afternoon she had already received a call to say her father was comfortable and being treated for his pain.

"All of his treatment has been absolutely brilliant, it has all gone really swimmingly and the nurses have been fabulous.

"In the olden days, five and a half hours might have seemed like a long time, but let's be straight and let's give some credit where it is due for people still managing to do a fabulous job."

"They must get very demoralised when they hear negative stories the whole time," she said.