People calling 999 are put on hold as hospital beds run out as the NHS crisis deepens ahead of the New Year holidays.
Hospital and ambulance funds across the country have declared a “critical incident” or “business continuity incident” due to a spike in demand after the Christmas break.
The move allows trusts to take short-term measures such as redirecting resources and closing procedures, although health officials say it will not result in additional support.
Over the past 24 hours, hospitals in Dorchester, Poole and Bournemouth have reported critical incidents and warned that there will be a “very long wait” for people arriving in emergency rooms.
“The number of hospitalizations exceeds the number of discharged patients,” Doveriya added.
In the North Midlands Dr. Matthew Lewis, medical director, said both the Royal Stoke Hospital and Stafford District Hospital are under “intense and prolonged pressure” that is likely to continue into the New Year holidays.
He said there are not enough beds for patients arriving at emergency rooms and people should wait in line for at least 12 hours or more.
The Northern Care Alliance, which operates four hospitals in Rochdale, Bury, Oldham and Salford in Greater Manchester, is on ‘high alert’ due to ‘extremely high numbers of patients in emergency departments and limited vacant beds’.
Judith Adams, head of delivery, urged the public to dial only 999 or go to the emergency room in case of life-threatening situations.
That’s what the paramedic told me in the Northwest I that the demand was so great that sometimes up to 75 people were left waiting after dialing 999.
“Imagine you call 999 and are being held?” the paramedic said, asking not to be named. “It could be someone who has a cardiac arrest, someone who bleeds and doesn’t survive.”
Due to a shortage of beds in hospitals, ambulances line up outside to treat patients the best they can until they become available.
“It’s terrible, I can’t even put it into words,” the paramedic said. “The ambulance takes patients to the hospital and it will be their patient for the day. They sit in the corridors or in the back of the ambulance. You sit there your entire shift, 12 hours.
“And then you get into a situation where your shift ends, and you can transfer this patient to another shift while he has not yet left the hospital.
“We talked about life and bodily injury during the strikes, but now we don’t offer life and health. We hurt patients because we don’t show up on time. As demand outstrips resources, the NHS is on the brink of collapse.
Northwestern Ambulance Service (SZS). I to a statement released earlier this month acknowledging that response times were affected by a number of factors, including delays in hospital transfers.
“NWAS is maximizing its resources by placing all clinically trained staff on the front lines, increasing the use of private healthcare providers, and working with healthcare partners to refer non-urgent cases to other healthcare services,” the agency said in a statement.
In Essex, a man with a suspected heart attack had to wait more than 24 hours for a bed, his family said.
said Nick Authridge I His 63-year-old brother-in-law did not want to go to the local hospital because of shoulder pain, but his wife persuaded him.
“The pain continued and his wife convinced him to go to the emergency room at a local hospital where he was diagnosed with a heart attack,” Authridge said. “He was taken to Basildon Hospital, which has everything you need to better understand his condition, and has been on a trolley in the emergency room ever since. He complains that the cart hurts his back, and there are no free beds in the ward.”
Pressure from the spread of the flu is mounting, according to NHS England, with seven times as many cases in hospitals as last month.
Employee absenteeism, including with Covid-19, also increased by a fifth.
Professor Sir Stephen Powys, National Medical Director of the NHS, said: “In addition to influenza, the NHS remains under great pressure, with high bed occupancy rates, over 12,000 beds occupied by medically fit patients and Die Demand. for emergency number 111 is still high. So make the most of 111 online, and in an emergency, call only 999 or go to the emergency room.
“Obviously this is not the time to be complacent and the risk of serious illness is very real, so with almost 350,000 vaccination appointments available next week, it’s important that everyone who qualifies gets in touch with their Covid-19 to confirm flu shot. as soon as possible. ”
Source: I News
I’m Raymond Molina, a professional writer and journalist with over 5 years of experience in the media industry. I currently work for 24 News Reporters, where I write for the health section of their news website. In my role, I am responsible for researching and writing stories on current health trends and issues. My articles are often seen as thought-provoking pieces that provide valuable insight into the state of society’s wellbeing.