Life savers
patient on their way to the resus department, can get up to 40 calls each day.
One thing that particularly stood out was the real issue with beds in the hospital.
During a noon meeting, divisional general manager for emergency and ambulatory care Maeve O’CallaghanHarrington said the hospital was currently short of 20 beds.
On Monday (January 22), that number reached -50/60 beds.
Ms Callaghan-Harrington said: “I have worked here for 15 years and I love it, but it’s the staff here who make the job, for me. They do a remarkable job day in day out.
“Overall, we’re improving – the number of black breaches, when ambulances are made to wait more than an hour, are down. On Monday we had eight, but last month there was one day with 24.”
First-time A&E user Ronald Matthias, of South Harrow, was brought in for dizzy spells at 7am.
After undergoing brain and CT scans, Mr Matthias said he had been “treated really well”.
He said: “This is my first time in A&E since I moved here in 1964.
“Honestly, the NHS is a godsend and anyone who says otherwise needs to be schooled. The staff are a credit to this hospital and have made me feel comfortable throughout.”
At 2pm I met the team for Short Term Assessment Rehabilitation and Reablement Services (STARRS).
The STARRS team, who were unanimously praised across A&E, dedicate their days to freeing up beds in the hospital by providing a range of in-home services.
It’s estimated the team save around 900 beds in Northwick Park Hospital each year.
Lead physiotherapist Jignesh Patel said: “We’re keeping patients safe and we’re keeping them out of hospital, which is the ultimate goal.”
As my time in A&E concluded, I met physician associate (PA) Hennel Agrawal, who rotates between the A&E and the Clinical Decisions Unit (CDU).
After being a PA for three years, Ms Agrawal said the hospital is dealing with “more and more people with not enough resources” and said she is feeling the pressure.
“We simply don’t have enough beds and that can be so stressful. Sometimes I feel like I can’t do my 100% best because of the lack of beds,” she said.
“My feeling is that the NHS is the best thing our country has and it would be really sad for it not to function as well as it could be.
“I love my job, and I hope we can keep going.”