Channel 4’s Dispatches will be showing covert footage from inside Watford General Hospital’s A&E this evening.

The Undercover Ambulance: NHS in Chaos will air on from 9pm to 10pm today (March 9). Scenes filmed in Watford’s hospital have already been described as “harrowing” and a “nightmare” by The Sunday Times.

Watford ambulance crew member Daniel Waterhouse agreed to be a whistle-blower and secretly record behind the scenes before resigning.

The East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust has said it was assured by the programme makers that patients and staff filmed without consent have been anonymised.

In response to the programme, a spokesperson highlighted “unprecedented” pressure over the winter, when the programme was filmed.

“EEAST was often not able to attend even our most serious patients as quickly as we would wish, and we apologise to those directly affected,” they added.

“We are recruiting more clinical staff and reducing hospital handover delays to help get more staff out responding to patients. We will continue to boost our capacity so our service can better respond to these demands.

“We have recently seen improvements in response times but our service, alongside the wider NHS, remains under significant pressure.”

Watford Observer: Watford General Hospital corridor (still from the broadcast)Watford General Hospital corridor (still from the broadcast) (Image: Channel 4)

Hospital scenes were filmed at Watford General Hospital and in London.

According to the i newspaper, it will show a man dying after delays getting him to hospital, a woman’s seizure while waiting in a corridor, and a man waiting for hours while potentially suffering a heart attack.

Watford General Hospital’s NHS trust also gave a statement.

A West Herts Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust spokesperson also highlighted the unprecedented demand over the winter.

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They said: “Emergency care patients are treated in order of clinical priority and this can mean long waits for those whose injury or illness does not require urgent attention.

“We monitor patients whilst they are waiting to ensure they are safe and have had pain relief and hydration, if needed.

“Our emergency care teams do a great job in challenging circumstances. We are incredibly proud of them and thank them for their resilience and compassion as they strive to provide the best care possible.”