I had the misfortune of ending up in one of Glasgow’s accident and emergency departments recently with an arm injury and it was a real eye opener.

All of the NHS workers I encountered – paramedics, nurses, doctors – were consummate professionals but they are clearly under immense pressure and resources are limited.

I was taken to hospital by ambulance where there was queue waiting to offload patients.

We were behind three ambulances and it was explained to me that we’d simply have to wait.

After about twenty minutes I was wheeled into A&E and abandoned in a corridor where several other patients were also waiting.

In front of me was an elderly woman who has fallen and suffered a head injury.

I watched doctors and nurses rushing around for more than an hour and no one spoke to either of us.

I kept overhearing hushed conversation between panicked medics who spoke about a lack of beds. One consultant whispered that they were 103 beds short.

While I waited I struck up a conversation with the elderly woman and discovered she had no family in Glasgow and was completely alone.

I asked a nurse to have a chat with her but she could only spare a few minutes before she was called away.

A couple of hours later the woman was moved and I asked the nurse when I would be seen. I was told six people were in front of me.

After three and a half hours and a quiet word with a consultant I was taken to a treatment area where a nurse looked at my arm for the first time.

The consultant walked past and gave me a thumbs up and shouted: “You’re in!”.

I thanked him for his intervention but it would be some time before I made it to a ward.

I explained to the nurse I had been waiting for “about four hours” before I was seen and I was concerned about the wound on my arm.

She was keen to point out it was under four hours – a target every A&E in Scotland must meet.

The target was met but I didn’t actually get taken to a ward until eight hours after I arrived at hospital.

I was left lying on a trolley for all that time with only a bed sheet for warmth and no offer of food or water.

However, as I was taken to the ward at 2am I felt fortunate – many other patients were forced to sleep on trollies in the same corridor I was left in for almost four hours.

When I made it to the ward the health service swung into action and the medics I met could not have been kinder or more attentive.

It was clear to me that the nurses and doctors are doing an incredible job in difficult circumstances but my experience of A&E was concerning.

Given that Glasgow’s health board could have to make savings of £60million and medics are already stretched on a weeknight, I fear for the future of our NHS.