‘This is the worst health crisis we’ve ever faced’
WARD STAFF SAY IT’S ‘OVERWHELMING’
INSIDE the frightening chaos of Hull’s intensive care unit lies a patient battling coronavirus. This isn’t an elderly person with underlying health conditions but previously fit and healthy Laura, who is just 31 years old.
Look North’s health correspondent Vicky Johnson was invited into the Intensive Care Unit at Hull Royal Infirmary to show people the stark reality of the pandemic.
Many people are frustrated by the restrictions in place, others are complacent and a disturbing few refuse to believe the virus even exists.
But the Hull Universities Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust says there are currently 166 Covid-19 positive patients at either Hull Royal or Castle Hill, with 16 in intensive care.
Bosses at the trust wanted to show people what is really happening behind the scenes.
On Friday’s Look North, every bed was taken by patients receiving oxygen, with some on ventilators, while stressed-out and tired staff did their utmost to help keep people alive.
Laura spoke to Look North through her mask, where she admitted she had been one of the complacent ones.
She said: “I didn’t wear a mask because of my mental health and I didn’t think I was going to get it, but I have been proved wrong. I have never really been ill before.”
Sharon has been fortnight, where staff in ICU for a battled to keep her alive. She told Look North: “It has been very bad. They thought at one point they could do nothing for me.”
Staff have also been blunt and honest about the grim task they are facing.
Dr Caroline Hibbert, consultant in critical care, said: “It feels like it could rapidly escalate out of control and there will be nothing we can do.
“We have far more patients in hospital than we did during the first wave.
“We are treating patients with high flows of oxygen and specialised devices but hopefully preventing them from needing ventilators.”
Another experienced nurse admitted she has never seen anything like it in all her years.
She said: “It’s overwhelming. I have never had a year like this in my whole career.”
Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust’s medical director Professor Russell Patmore also had no way of sugar-coating the desperate situation.
He told Look North’s Peter Levy: “This is the worst health crisis we have ever had to face.
“This is really tough and staff are working so hard every day. The type of work is emotionally draining. It is relentless.
“It depends on where you start with age and health conditions, but a good proportion of people who end up on ICU will die.”
The hope is that the second national lockdown, which is scheduled to end on December 2, will go a long way towards cutting local Covid-19 infection rates.