An elderly patient tucks in while waiting for a bed at Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford, during the Association of Community Health Councils for England and Wales' annual Casualty Watch on Monday. The longest waits revealed by the snapshot of 240 accident and emergency departments were both at Northwick Park Hospital, Harrow: 40 hours, 40 minutes for a 71year-old with a fracture and 30 hours, 31 minutes for a 69-year-old with a heart problem.