‘Very, very busy’ consultant calls on the public to obey lockdown and stay home

AN INTENSIVE care consultant has warned the public to abide by the coronvirus lockdown rules in order to stop the spread of Covid-19 and avoid hospitals becoming overwhelmed.

Dr Ami Jones, who works at the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport, said the hospital is “very, very busy” and her unit is full of younger people ill with the virus – not just the over-70s.

“We are very, very busy. This whole hospital is busy,” she told ITV News.

“We have already surged beyond our standard capacity. It’s not just the vulnerable and elderly that are getting poorly – my unit is full of 20-, 30- and 40-year-olds.”

Dr Jones works for the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, which has almost half the total number of Covid-19 patients in Wales.

She said the hospital is “very prepared” and has “surge plans” in place to cope with an influx of sick patients.

“We are looking to exceed six times our normal critical care capacity, but it’s not just a case of giving us ventilators – we need more staff and we need other equipment.”

Dr Jones urged the public to stay at home and only leave for essential journeys.

“We are prepared to surge if we need to, but we hope we don’t. We hope lockdown and social distancing will flatten the curve, but people do need to lock down,” she said.

“Popping to the shops for a paper is not essential – everybody is at risk.”

“I’ve got ITU patients on my ward who were previously fit and well, so if you think it’s not going to affect you and you can just go out and do what you want, then you are wrong.

“You will end up in ITU if you are not careful.”

Dr Jones said she did not have concerns about the availability of personal protective equipment in the hospital.

“I actually feel more at risk when I’m out shopping, because it’s full of people I can’t control who might not be washing their hands,” she said.

Dr Jones, who deployed to Afghanistan while in the British Army, said Wales is “ahead of the curve with testing” and the health board has been swift in getting people swabbed.

“Everybody is working really hard, being very professional,” she said.

“We are giving good patient care and I feel reassured what we are delivering to patients is of the highest standard. I hope we are able to continue doing that as patient numbers increase.”

Meanwhile, a colleague of Dr Jones who recorded a video message describing suffering from coronavirus has returned to work.

Dr David Hepburn, a consultant intensivist, said: “It’s great to be back at work and great to feel better and really pleased to be able to treat patients again and really pleased to be able to get back into it.

“It looks likely we are going to have a really busy few months.”