Hannah Price rushed into the A&E at Manchester Children's hospital last month carrying her two-week-old baby and burst into tears.

"It was absolutely rammed," she said.

"There was more than fifty children, all of them looking horrifically ill.

"People were lining the corridors and lying on the floor.

"I had to wait [in a queue] for thirty minutes just to talk to the receptionist."

It was then another agonising fourteen hours before Hannah was able to put her newborn baby Penelope, who was suffering severe jaundice, in a neonatal bed.

And even then, they had to stay in the cramped assessment unit, rather than a ward.

In total, Hannah, from Chorlton, says she has spent more than 150 hours waiting for a bed during three visits to Manchester hospitals in recent months.

She praised hospital staff for the 'exceptional care' they have provided but said she has been shocked to see how much pressure staff and the system are under.

Hospital bosses apologised to the family for the long waits they experienced saying they were exceptionally busy and staff were working extremely hard.

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"I was still recovering from the birth so I was in a lot of pain," said Hannah, 30.

"During the wait we only had a car seat because the midwives had told us to go to A&E straight away.

"I was just putting her down and picking her back up again all the time.

"I was breastfeeding but there was no food to feed myself.

"I couldn't leave with her in case we got called."

Hannah's husband Oliver went with them, but eventually had to leave to look after the couple's other two children aged four and 13.

"When we finally got the incubator I texted him and he replied 'Oh my God that was a fourteen-hour wait'," said Hannah.

"It was absolutely mad."

Fortunately, Penelope recovered from her episode of jaundice and received fantastic care at Manchester Children's hospital.

The same was true when Hannah gave birth at St Mary's and when she had to visit Wythenshawe A&E two weekends ago when Penelope was sick. Medics suspected she had sepsis.

But again, both visits involved substantial waits for a bed.

In total, Hannah, from Chorlton, says she has spent more than 150 hours waiting for a bed during three visits to Manchester hospitals in recent months.

In September, she was admitted to the maternity unit at St Mary's to be induced, but it was a further six days before a bed could be found on the labour ward.

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"They wouldn't let me go home so my husband had to go off for a week to look after the children," she said.

"He had to use his paternity leave early while I waited in the hospital.

"I was under consultant-led care and I was surprised I had to wait so long.

"When I got a bed, everything went fine, I couldn't fault the staff.

"But they're just so pushed, it was so busy all the time.

"It's such a big hospital and I feel like they've not got enough staff to deal with it."

After Hannah's experiences at St Mary's and Manchester Children's hospital, she decided to go to Wythenshawe hospital when Penelope suffered another health scare a fortnight ago.

"She had a temperature of 39, initially I called 111 and they told me to get a doctor's appointment," said Hannah.

"But then her arms suddenly went really cold and mottled.

"I rang 111 again and they said that could be sepsis and it's emergency so you have to go straight to A&E.

"I thought it would be a bit quieter at Wythenshawe but we ended up waiting for six hours.

"I thought with it being suspected sepsis they would admit her straight away.

"Luckily it wasn't sepsis, it was a viral infection.

"They treated her with with fluids and antibiotics and she was was in hospital for three days."

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Once again, Hannah says she received exceptional care at Wythenshawe, but believes her experience highlights the strain the NHS is under.

"The staff are absolutely brilliant," she said.

"I spoke to a nurse who said her own daughter was ill but she said she couldn't afford to take time off.

"It's just such a shame they can't see everyone as quickly as they should do.

"Everyone who goes to A&E will say the same thing - we can't pretend it's not happening."

A spokesperson at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust said: “We are really sorry that Hannah and Penelope have had to wait to be treated on a number of occasions over the recent months.

"Our staff are working really hard to support patients and families during an exceptionally busy time and are working tirelessly to provide the best possible care under extreme pressures.

“We recognise that we were not able to deliver our usual high standards of care in a timely manner and offer our sincere apologies to Hannah and her family. We would be very happy to discuss this further with Hannah.”

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Hannah's story chimes with many others who have written to the Manchester Evening News about A&E wait times in Greater Manchester recently.

Many readers contacted us in response to our coverage of Jack Williment, the four-year-old boy who had to lie on a hospital floor in Leeds while waiting to be treated for suspected pneumonia.

Despite a concerted effort to discredit the story, many said they have had similar experiences at hospitals in Greater Manchester.

On our Facebook page, one mum told of taking her 10-week-old baby to Oldham and having to let him sleep on two seats pushed together while waiting for more than four hours.

Another told of taking her 12-week-old to north Manchester general and waiting 11 hours to get a bed surrounded by almost 50 children.

In Tameside, one reader described her partner's mum waiting on an A&E floor with an arm broken in three places.

And in Stockport, another reader described the Stepping Hill A&E waiting room as looking 'like the First World War front line.'

On Monday, Royal Bolton hospital declared a 'black alert' - also known as OPEL 4 - due to soaring demand.

The status is declared when a hospital is “unable to deliver comprehensive care” and patient safety is at risk.

NHS funding continues to be one of the major issues of the general election and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn urged voters in Bolton to back his party and 'save the NHS.'

Meanwhile, Conservative leader Boris Johnson has continued to have to defend his reaction to the picture of Jack Williment when being interviewed by an ITV reporter on Monday afternoon.

Mr Johnson initially refused to look at the photo, before reporter Joe Pike said to him: "You refuse to look at the photo. You've taken my phone and put it in your pocket Prime Minister."

Mr Johnson then took the phone out of his pocket, looked at the photo on the screen, and said: "It's a terrible, terrible photo.

"And I apologise obviously to the families and all those who have terrible experiences in the NHS."

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"But what we are doing is supporting the NHS, and on the whole I think patients in the NHS have a much, much better experience than this poor kid has had.

"That's why we're making huge investments into the NHS, and we can only do it if we get Parliament going, if we unblock the current deadlock, and we move forward."

Hannah Price has previously campaigned for the Green party but says this time she will be voting Labour.

"I think the Government should be there to protect the vulnerable," she said.

"If they're not doing that, what are they doing?"

A spokesperson for the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership, which represents the 37 NHS organisations and local authorities in the region, acknowledged that the system is under strain.

"A&E departments at hospitals across Greater Manchester had an extremely busy weekend," he said.

"In order to cope with the high demand, the level of attendance and the length of waits at all our A&E departments are monitored constantly.

"This means the best use can be made of all available resources and the pressures have now eased slightly.

"Our staff are working extremely hard as we enter the most intense period of winter. However, we ask that the public help too and only go to A&E if necessary. Anyone who is unsure of the right place to get treatment should ring the NHS 111 phone line.

"Some seasonal pressure is also due to outbreaks of both flu and the norovirus. Everyone should practice good personal hygiene to stay well - washing hands thoroughly, particularly after using the toilet and preparing food, is the best way to stop the spread of viruses.

"If you are in an at-risk group please make sure you have had the flu vaccination and if you’re the parent of a young child make sure they’re vaccinated too. The vaccination is free and could save you from a hospital visit this winter."