The head of health warned that the NHS is under “almost unbearable pressure” as the flu increases the need for medical care and hits the workforce.
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said the health care system is in a “vulnerable position” and winter crises are not always normal.
I believes that at least 10 NHS trusts are currently experiencing critical incidents, meaning they have to cut back on regular services to meet demand. At least three other trusts have withdrawn warnings in recent days.
Mr Taylor told Sky News this morning: “There is no question that when the NHS is under the pressure we are under now, there will be repercussions in terms of harm and risk to patients.
“The main problem is that we are still in a vulnerable position as a health service.”
He added: “It is important to say that we do not always have winter crises. There was a time when we invested steadily for several years, more than ten years ago, when the winter crisis was not common.
“But then we have 10 years of austerity, which means we entered Covid in a fragile state. This meant that Covid hit us harder.”
Mr Taylor said “the massive flu spike and people who are in the hospital with the flu are vulnerable and at risk” and the impact of the flu on the workforce means “you’re getting into the situation we’re in, which is most of the health related parts of it – we’re focusing on hospitals, but that includes mental health, community services and primary care – are under almost unbearable pressure.
“However, this means that we cannot provide our services as usual. We need to focus all of our energy on the most pressing and urgent needs, which is why you see critical incident reports in many places,” he said.
The Betsy Cadwaladr University Health Board in Wales was the latest to announce the critical incident this morning, saying it is “struggling to cope with sustained unprecedented demand in the health and welfare system”.
“We are currently seeing a very high number of patients entering our hospitals with influenza, Covid and other respiratory viruses, as well as an increase in the number of critically injured or sick patients requiring emergency care. This, combined with the lack of available beds in our hospitals and significant staff shortages, is resulting in extremely long patient wait times, especially in our hospitals’ emergency departments,” said Angela Wood, Executive Director of Nursing and Midwifery.
Ms Wood added: “We continue to work closely with our local government colleagues to support medically healthy patients after they leave the hospital, and we will engage all available staff. This is an exceptionally challenging time for colleagues in our health services, and we are immensely grateful for the continued efforts under such difficult circumstances.”
The Portsmouth Hospital University NHS Trust switched to a critical incident for the second time last month after warning that demand for emergency deliveries “far exceeds capacity”.
Two Nottingham NHS Trusts, Nottingham University Hospitals and Sherwood Forest Hospital reported critical incidents in late December, informing patients that their local services are “under the most strain we have ever seen”.
Hampshire NHS Trust and NHS Sussex hospitals, including Sussex Trust University Hospitals, remain on lockdown in a critical incident along with North Midlands University Hospitals and East Anglia Ambulance Service.
Health and care services in Derby and Derbyshire are also handling the critical incident.
At the teaching hospitals of Greater Manchester, Raitington, Wigan and Lee, the NHS Foundation Trust in December urged patients to go to emergency rooms only in the event of a “life-threatening emergency”.
Dorset County Hospital declared a critical incident due to “extreme work pressure” since Christmas but withdrew the status on 30 December. However, he warned that services “remain under extreme pressure.”
Surrey and Sussex NHS Trust also canceled the critical incident after reporting a record number of emergency room patients last week, but said they were still “incredibly busy” and Buckinghamshire also lifted the alert. The Southwest Ambulance Service canceled the critical incident yesterday but stressed it was still under intense pressure.
Dr Adrian Boyle, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM), said up to 500 people die each week due to delays in emergency care.
He said time radio This flu has exacerbated the strain on the healthcare system, with drastically increased waiting times for ambulances, overburdened emergency rooms and high staff turnover, leading to more preventable deaths.
DR RCEM Vice President Ian Higginson also warned that some emergency departments were in “total crisis” and that there was “no doubt” that there was a risk to patients.
The RCEM has warned that this is the worst winter crisis for emergency room waiting times on record.
A recent survey found that 29% of adults who tried to make an appointment with a doctor in the past 12 months were unable to get one.
Of these, a fifth of patients went to the emergency department for treatment, 16 percent treated themselves or referred someone else with no medical training, and 31 percent dropped everything.
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.