by Tracey Scholes, Manchester.
Thought I’d share my recent experience in my local hospital.
I was advised on Monday morning to call an ambulance for my 83 year-old bed-bound dad, by his GP. The 999 call was at 9:58. Several calls were received from the North West ambulance service after that time, informing me that we hadn’t been forgotten. At 4:30 in the afternoon the ambulance arrived and at 5:15 we departed to arrive at our local A&E at about 5:30.
My experience in the next few hours will remain with me for the rest of my life. As we arrived, the ambulance entrance was completely grid-locked. There were about eight ambulances outside. We followed the crew into the hospital. It was like a war zone. The corridors (multiple) were completely full with patients on trolleys lined up. As you would expect, a significant number of these were elderly.
There were anything between ten and twenty ambulance personnel in the area at any one time. There was a staff nurse assigned responsibility for the patients ‘in the corridor’. I didn’t think I’d ever see or hear of such a role. Some ambulance staff had been there for over 3 hours.
An ambulance person seemed to be coordinating the activity for the whole trust. My sister and I were informed that there were no free beds across the trust and that was the cause of the situation in our local DGH. We were then informed that the A&E waiting time was 24 hours.
Paramedics started to triple up with the patients, meaning one paramedic to three patients, to help free up ambulances so they would be able to get back out on the road and respond to calls.
Temporary
A paramedic was patrolling the corridor, undertaking and recording routine observations on each patient. Drips were set up for those that needed antibiotics/ rehydration etc. Some patients needed the toilet, and temporary screens were used to provide some privacy whilst using urine bottles.
During all of this, the worst thing that could happen did happen. A code red was announced, calling trauma to resuscitate. Staff cleared the corridor of all those patients and families, screened it off, to then enable the trauma patient to be transported to the resuscitation bay.
After a 4 hour wait my dad was finally triaged. The cubicle was filthy. Plastic trays for taking samples were stacked in the sink, waiting to be washed. Empty packages from sample bottles syringes, etc. were discarded on the trolley which was almost depleted of any stock; blood stained tissue on the floor; a single slipper lay in the corner; the clinical waste bin was overflowing.
Every member of staff was magnificent
The whole scene was hideous. The doctors, nurses, auxiliary, health care assistants, in fact every member of that department were magnificent. They were running around doing their absolute best for all their patients, constantly apologising for the situation. Two doctors were frantically trying to locate an area to assess a patient.
At the point I left the hospital, the corridors were still littered with patients. Mums sat on the floor feeding their infants. I walked outside to see about ten ambulances still gridlocked at the entrance.
My dad was finally admitted after midnight. Was it onto a ward? No, it was to remain in A&E overnight. The staff, wanting to do their absolute best, transferred their patients onto full hospital beds to provide a modicum of comfort in such awful circumstances. I salute each and every one of the staff who worked that evening providing the best care they could.
To those responsible for reducing our NHS to this, with constant financial cuts and reduction of local A&E departments over many years, hold your heads in shame.
My dad – he remains in hospital receiving treatment in an appropriate ward.
November 28, 2019
