A dad has claimed 'kids were scattered on the floor and snaking queues' spiralled out the door at a 'warzone' children's hospital.
The concerning scenes were witnessed by a dad that had called NHS 111, before taking his child to an NHS walk-in centre and later Alder Hey Children's Hospital.
The father was worried after his two-year-old son came out in a rash.
But he was unable to be dealt with by the NHS 111 service or at a walk-in centre.
It prompted him to travel to the Accident and Emergency department at Alder Hey Children's Hospital on Sunday afternoon.
The Liverpool Echo reports that when he arrived, the dad - who has asked not to be named - joined many others in queuing outside the A&E department for 40 minutes, but his son was not triaged for a further hour.
The concerned dad, who was praising hospital staff throughout, shared an image of the queue to get into the hospital and described the chaotic scenes he witnessed once he got inside.
He said: "There were kids sprawled all over the floor in every direction we looked, my partner said it looked like a warzone. This was after it took us an hour and 40 minutes just to speak to a receptionist.
"The government put out this propaganda about getting seen through 111 or at the walk-in centre but no parent is going to wait that long when they are really worried; they are going to go to hospital.
"Every child I saw in there needed to be in there, but the hospitals are beyond crisis now."
After a wait of about eight hours, his child was seen and has since been diagnosed.
The family were hopeful they would soon be able to take him home.
The worrying account is the latest in a long line of those being reported conveying the enormous pressures facing NHS staff now.
The dad said his experience left him convinced that the health service was now "unmanageable".
He added: "This is not the fault of staff on the ground, they are so dedicated and the staff in Alder Hey who we saw were just in a different league.
"But what is happening in hospitals now is so wrong in a rich country like this.
"None of this is the fault of the staff, it's the system.
"We are so lucky to have the amazing NHS and Alder Hey Hospital. The scenes are no fault of our great institution or local trust.
"It feels like these hospitals won't last, people are dying now - I think we need to stand up and fight for the NHS because it is being sucked away in front of our eyes."
A spokesperson for Alder Hey Children's Hospital said: "Alder Hey is seeing record attendances in our Emergency Department this winter.
"We would urge parents and carers to only attend in cases of an emergency. To help make the right decision, please check Alder Hey’s Symptom Checker on our website, your GP, NHS 111 or walk in centres before attending.
"We would like to thank you for your patience and co-operation at this really busy time."
