Axios Des Moines: The wait time for patients seeking emergency care at Des Moines hospitals has spiked since October, resulting in sick patients waiting sometimes up to 10 hours for treatment. The recent omicron wave has put an already stressed hospital system near its breaking point, resulting in delays for care and sometimes extreme situations. Patients are often stuck in waiting rooms for twice as long as the estimated median times last year — and many are giving up and leaving without care. The wait for care has doubled for patients in the last eight months at UnityPoint’s emergency rooms, which include Lutheran, Methodist and Methodist West. Since August, the median wait has averaged three to four hours, but it can spike to 10-plus hours depending on the time of day.