A day in the lives of these

GETWESTLONDON VISITS THE A&E AT NORTHWICK PARK HOSPITAL – ONE OF THE BUSIEST IN LONDON

IN THE first 21 days of January, more than 7,800 seriously ill or injured patients were treated in Northwick Park Hospital’s A&E department – an average of 375 each day.

The lively A&E in Harrow receives more ambulances than any other hospital in London, with staff greeting as many as 130 in one day.

After a local NHS boss warned of “sustained pressure” at the hospital this winter, getwestlondon was invited to spend a day in the A&E department to get a taste of life on the frontline.

From the high-pressured resusci- tation unit, where three patients arrived in just five minutes, to walking 8,000 steps in just four hours, here’s a look at what an afternoon in A&E involves.

On Wednesday January 24 I was ushered into Northwick Park’s A&E and welcomed by a group of friendly NHS staff, one of whom was bold enough to say the banned “Q” word ahead of a morning meeting about patient progress.

Although saying “quiet” is banned - usually prompting doctors and nurses to lunge towards a wooden surface - the department did seem relatively calm that morning.

However, I was immediately told to return in the evening, when it’s not unusual to see stretcher-bound patients queueing down the corridor.

I was then led to the “pit stop”, the first port of call for all ambulances and paramedics arriving at the hospital with seriously ill patients.

The hospital dealt with a staggering 60,000 patients who arrived by ambulance last year, yet senior sister Cathy Grimes said they now have “much more coming in compared to before”.

Ms Grimes, who has worked at the hospital for seven years, said: “It’s not unusual for patients to be waiting in the corridor here.

“We just don’t have the number of beds to deal with the number of patients coming in.

“We see a high turnover of nurses working in A&E simply because of the pressure the role brings, paramedics often have to help with the patients coming in.”

Opposite the ‘pit stop’ desk is the fast-paced resuscitation unit, which has seven rooms used for treating trauma victims and patients with lifethreatening illnesses or injuries.

Although staff try to keep one room available for incoming patients, advanced clinical practitioner in training John Ross said the rooms are often at capacity.

In my first five minutes in the resus Unit, three patients arrived when only two beds were free.

“It’s usually full capacity throughout the day,” Mr Ross said.

“There are a lot of patients who need to be moved elsewhere, but they end up in here for quite a while, so they end up in the corridor unfortunately when we’ve not got space for them.

“Nobody thinks that is ideal. The hospital isn’t big enough but I don’t think it can be big enough for the [number of ] patients that we have.”

He added: “It’s either sink or swim here, I love it because it’s fast-paced and constantly on the go.”

The team’s “blue light phone”, which rings whenever there is a