‘I thought I was never going to see my family again’
PATIENT SPEAKS OF ORDEAL AS ICU UNITS REACH BREAKING POINT
THERE is a real threat of intensive care units (ICUs) becoming overwhelmed unless coronavirus rates are brought under control, Boris Johnson admitted.
The Prime Minister said there was a “very substantial” risk that ICUs would be unable to cope if numbers kept increasing.
His stark warning came as the daily reported death toll reached a new high, with 1,564 fatalities recorded on Wednesday January 13
– the highest number in Europe on a single day.
The latest figures mean the grim milestone of more than 100,000 deaths involving coronavirus has now been passed in the UK.
The BBC revisited St Mary’s Hospital, in west London, to speak to patients and staff battling the pandemic on BBC News at Six.
The wards had been expanded over the past few months and patients were seen with facemasks distributing oxygen.
Speaking to BBC reporters, one young patient shared her “terrifying” ordeal of battling the strain.
Sarah Ahmed said: “I genuinely thought I was going to die, I surrendered.
“It was the stage where suicide, for me, was probably an easier option to go through. I can’t put into words, I honestly cannot put into words how terrifying and how merciless I was to it six days ago.
“I genuinely thought I was never going to see my family again.”
Dr Ernie Wong, respiratory consultant at the hospital, said medics have seen how quickly patients’ conditions can decline.
“We are now a lot more aware of the propensity to deteriorate very quickly and we are a lot more vigilant at monitoring patients,” he said.