Obese strain on paramedics

AMBULANCE staff are taking thousands of days off with bad backs as 999 patients get heavier.

The number of obesity-related hospital admissions in the 12 months to May hit 711,000, up from 617,000 the previous year.

And staff in England missed 63,145 days with backache in 2018- 19. In the North West alone, it accounted for 11,123 lost days. Colm Porter, national ambulance officer for union Unison, said dealing with bigger patients can cause back problems, but “staff shortages and rising demand, where crews are dealing with more patients each shift, are also taking a toll”.

Last week an auxiliary nurse, injured after repeatedly lifting a “grossly obese” patient, lost her fight for compensation. Sharon

Thwaites, 57, had a disc bulge, a ligament tear and irritation of nerves after a night shift caring for a 22-stone woman in 2015.

She said the “very demanding” patient constantly called out to be turned over in bed.

Three other staff members complained of back pain after moving her, a court heard. Two hours after getting home in

Basildon, Essex, Mrs Thwaites was in too much pain to move.

But a county court rejected her compensation claim, ruling that “suitable and sufficient” risk assessments had been in place at Basildon Hospital.

Tom Collins, from the hospital trust, said the ward had not been short- staffed. He said: “The mere fact she sustained an injury following a busy shift does not render the assessments unsuitable, let alone negligent.”