A HEARTRENDING DESPATCH...
Nurses take anxiety pills on wards which run at 104% capacity May: Hospital will not delay start of chemo
NURSES at a hospital “on its knees” at 104% capacity have told how staff are taking antianxiety pills to get through the day.
Corridors are reportedly packed at Southmead Hospital with “unprecedented” patient levels sparking an “Internal Critical Incident”.
A leaked memo showed the Bristol hospital way above the NHS safe capacity level of 80%.
A nurse said her department is so understaffed it is now missing almost a third of nurses, meaning her colleagues are “exhausted and losing hope”.
She said eight had called in sick on a recent shift, and added: “At least four couldn’t face another day. Us staff are horrified and ashamed of how some patients are put at risk.”
She added: “I have colleagues that have to take anxiety pills just to come to work.”
Yesterday health regulator the Care Quality Commission suspended routine inspections until February due to winter pressures. THERESA May says there are “absolutely no plans” for an NHS hospital to delay chemotherapy for patients, after a leaked memo reportedly warned cycles needed to be cut due a lack of staff.
In the internal email at Churchill Hospital, Oxford, head of chemotherapy Dr Andrew Weaver said: “We are down approximately 40% on the establishment of nurses on [day treatment unit].
“As a consequence we are having to delay chemotherapy patients’ starting times to 4 weeks.
“For example where normally 6 cycles are given