"6 hours waiting in AnE for a bed"

I was recently unexpectedly hospitalised at the PRU for one night. The emergency medical care I found was first class, however I had to be admitted and I was told this at 12.30pm. I was occupying a cubicle in the sub trauma section. I was told that Sister ( I never saw this woman she was apparently always on the end of a phone) was looking for a bed for me. Despite asking numerous times, to no avail a bed apparently finally became available at 6.30pm. I went to the ward where I was admitted. I was then part of the hand over for the 7pm shift. I asked other patents how long the bed had been unoccupied and was told it was free all day! It seems that admissions are at the convenience of the administration staff on the ward and not the patient, and that they did not want to have to start altering their lists of patients mid shift! So this impression of somebody phoning around all the wards on the hospital is completely false. Even so despite asking for something to eat and being promised a snack box, it never arrived. I was lucky that my partner brought me food in. I had a very restless night caused mainly by the alarms constantly going off (there is one on the blood pressure trolley) Staff seem to become immune to the annoying bleeping alarms. A similar situation as car alarms - they go off so often nobody takes any notice! Luckily I was released the following day. I am normally supportive of NHS and hospital staff.