Online film shows hospital crisis

Secretly-filmed footage has revealed the scale of the crisis facing hospitals in east Kent, as patients were left waiting in ambulances and stuck on trolleys in corridors.

Alisha Owen recorded the scene at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford on New Year’s Day, when staff were battling to cope with patient demand.

It has been viewed more than 20,000 times online.

Last week Prime Minister Theresa May and Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt apologised after the announcement that all non-emergency operations were to be cancelled in January.

On Facebook Ms Owen posted: “This is a post from the William Harvey Hospital.

“We took a friend there and it was five hours before he got a brain scan after he suffered a major fit and had hit his head.

“I am so sad our hospitals are now like this. There was, at one point, no room in the corridors, they kept people in the ambulance, please share and make our government aware.”

Her video showed patients on beds lining the corridors and also showed the effect it has having on paramedics, who were left waiting as patients were stuck in ambulances with the hospital unable to take them.

During the New Year period, the ambulance service issued advice on social media for patients not to call 999 unless it was a lifethreatening or serious emergency and said operators responded to calls every 20 seconds.

Bed occupancy rates at hospitals across Kent were all above 90% between Christmas and New Year. The recommended limit from NHS England is 85%.

The East Kent NHS Trust had already taken the decision to suspend non-emergency operations over the festive period, which has now been extended this month.

Interim chief executive Susan Acott said: “It’s been a tough start to the year across the NHS, with continued high demand upon emergency services.

“But I have seen great teamwork in our hospitals, flexibility between sites and huge efforts and success in getting patients out of hospital and back home for Christmas and the New Year.

“Because the most critically ill patients are seen first, some people spend longer than we would like before being admitted to a ward or discharged. Throughout this time everyone is committed to providing the best care possible for our patients.”

‘We took a friend and it was five hours before he got a brain scan after a major fit’

Picture: East Kent Hospitals Interim chief executive of East Kent NHS Trust, Susan Acott, right, has acknowledged the high demand emergency services are trying to cope with