Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Worst week ever for NHS
Covid-19, sick staff and winter pressure blamed Senior doc fears the worst is still to come
THIS week has been the “worst in the NHS in living memory”, a senior doctor has said.
Dr Tom Black, chairman of the British Medical Association’s Northern Ireland Council, said hospitals are being hit with a “triple whammy” of rising numbers of Covid-19 cases, lack of available staff and winter pressures.
He added the second wave of coronavirus “appears worse” than the first earlier this year.
On Monday, officials recorded 342 Covid patients – higher than the previous peak of 322 on April 8.
Dr Black said: “To be frank, it’s the worst I have seen it in my 35-plus year career and that would be the same for all doctors in Northern Ireland.
“This is the worst week in the NHS probably in living memory and the concern is next week will be worse.”
He described Mid Ulster, Belfast and Derry and Strabane as the peak areas for infections where hospitals “will get it hard for the next few weeks”.
Dr Black added: “We have a pandemic, huge numbers of staff off sick and winter pressures, all three at the same time. We have never had to deal with this before with a system that works at near capacity usually.
“We need to make it very clear to the public that we have a very, very difficult month ahead of us.”
The Northern Health Trust issued an urgent message on social media on Monday urging patients at Antrim Hospital who were fit to be discharged but required a community bed to accept the first they were offered.
Spokeswoman Wendy Magowan said at 2pm on Monday there were 27 “very sick people” awaiting admission.
She told the BBC: “We didn’t have any beds that we could admit them to, the resuscitation area was full, there were ambulances waiting outside and our ED consultants were justifiably concerned if someone else with a serious injury or illness attended that they simply could not respond.
“We are exceptionally concerned about the winter and the increase in more respiratory illnesses.”
Meanwhile, a group representing close contact workers will set out a case in court against the “disproportionate” and “arbitrary” shutdown of their businesses.
The Executive announced services such as hairdressers and beauticians were among a range of businesses required to close until November 13.
Jason Shankey, Naomi Holmans and Michelle Young said they are taking a legal case on behalf of the “whole close contact industry”.
Solicitor Simon Chambers said they believe it will be the first such case to be heard in a UK court. He added: “We have a good strong team and we feel pretty confident this is a case that should be aired and the Department of Health should be giving answers as to why this industry was closed down when there is no compelling evidence to justify that decision.
“Time is of essence here, everyone is losing money hand over fist, everybody is closed down. A lot of people in the industry are self-employed, they are young, on minimum wage.
“Even if they qualify for 60% of their pay, that is only 60% of minimum wage. They have got rent to pay.
“In just over two weeks’ time, the decision is being made whether to continue with lockdown. If nothing else this will bring to the attention of the Executive and Department of Health this i s an industr y that shouldn’t be so easily dismissed.”
Earlier this week it was revealed four barbers have threatened the Executive with legal action over the restrictions.
Sean Lawlor, Andrew Kavanagh, David Lutton and Padraig Mcshane stated their intention to challenge the decision-making process that led to the regulations coming into force.
A scientific paper that guided the Executive’s decisions on the introduction of the circuit-break estimated the closure of hairdressers and beauticians could reduce the virus’s reproduction number by 0.05.
Other steps that would have had a greater projected impact, such as the closure of churches (estimated reduction of 0.1), were not taken.
The group has launched an online fundraising effort to pay for the legal action which can be found at crowdjustice.com/case/close-contact-covidfairness/.