Health staff urge public to stick to Covid rules
Desperate healthcare workers have pleaded with the public to follow Covid rules amid growing pressure on the National Health Service in Britain.
Responding to pictures of revellers mixing together on New Year’s Eve in some parts of the country, medics urged people to social distance to help limit the spread of the new, more easily transmissible strain of Covid-19.
Their message comes as a nurse revealed that resources are so stretched that one patient ran out of oxygen amid the struggle to cope with a surge in infections.
The nurse, who works at the Whittington Hospital in north London, described patients being left in corridors, others spending up to three hours in ambulances because of a lack of beds and one being left without oxygen when their cylinder ran out.
‘‘I’m worried about patient safety because if these little things are happening now when we’re short and it’s busy, it’s only going to get worse,’’ the nurse said.
‘‘It’s not having enough nurses to care for patients, patient safety is being affected. Some are in corridors, being looked after in makeshift areas, makeshift wards have been created for Covid patients, and ICUs are running out of space.’’
Rupert Pearse, an intensive care consultant at the Royal London Hospital, said: ‘‘The situation in London is now much worse than the first wave and still deteriorating. Sad to see long queues of ambulances outside the hospital where I work. Almost all my patients are less than 60 years old and previously fit. If you think this disease can’t touch you then think again.’’
In a disturbing sign of the pressure faced by London’s hospitals it has emerged that intensive care units in three of the capital’s hospitals were ‘‘full’’ on New Year’s Eve. According to a leaked NHS email from last Thursday obtained by Sky News, North Middlesex University Hospital, Barnet Hospital and Whittington
Hospital had no more room for seriously ill patients and had patients waiting for a transfer to another ICU.
Responding to the nurse’s account a spokesman from Whittington Health said: ‘‘Whilst we do not comment on anonymous claims, we take these allegations very seriously. Like the whole NHS, Whittington Health is currently experiencing pressure as a result of a rapid increase in Covidpositive patients. However, the safety of our patients remains our top priority.’’
The government also faced mounting pressure at the weekend from teachers’ unions to keep schools in England closed for at least another two weeks.
The government has already decided to keep all schools in London closed this week to try to stem new infections. Unions want the policy extended across the whole of England, expressing fears about the health of both teachers and children.
After an emergency meeting on Saturday, the National Education Union, which represents over 450,000 education workers, called on Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative government to move learning online for at least two weeks. It also told members they have a legal right not to have to work in an ‘‘unsafe environment’’ of accelerating coronavirus cases, hospital admissions and deaths.
Britain on Saturday, local time, hit a daily record for new coronavirus infections – 57,725 – and looked set to soon overtake Italy once again to become the worst-hit country in Europe with nearly 75,000 Covid-19 deaths. The fear is that with rising infections, the number of deaths will also grow over the coming weeks.
Britain has recorded its five highest daily new infection numbers over the past five days – all above 50,000 and double the number of only a few weeks ago.
With many British hospitals at or near capacity, there are growing concerns over how the already stretched National Health Service will cope with an expected rise in people seeking treatment after getting infected over the holidays. Field hospitals are being outfitted again to take in patients.
– Telegraph Group, AP