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AMBULANCES WITH COVID-19 patients have been pictured queueing outside hospitals in England as Health Secretary Matt Hancock prepares to announce tougher restrictions amid surging cases.
Footage on social media appeared to show emergency vehicles lined up outside the Royal London Hospital and Queen’s Hospital, both in east London, on Tuesday, when NHS Providers’ deputy chief executive Saffron Cordery warned pressure on the health service was “rising at an unsustainable rate”.
The College of Paramedics’ spokesman Martin Berry said first responders were under unprecedented pressure.
“The demand on the system and the people within that system is at a level we’ve never had to contend with before,” he told the BBC. “It’s utterly heartbreaking.”
A statement released by the Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Queen’s Hospital, urged people to only contact ambulance services in the case of real emergencies.
“Along with the rest of the NHS, we are under considerable pressure as we look after a rising number of Covid-19 patients, some of whom are being cared for safely in ambulances before entering Queen’s Hospital,” it said.
Coronavirus patient numbers have reached their highest levels during the pandemic, with 51,135 further cases and 414 deaths reported yesterday.
The Barts Health NHS Trust, which is responsible for Royal London Hospital, said in a statement it had opened an extra coronavirus ward on Sunday.
“We are treating very high numbers of patients with Covid-19 across our hospitals, and in line with our winter escalation plan we have moved into a ‘very high pressure’ phase and taking steps to keep our patients safe,” it added in its statement on Tuesday.
Ambulances were also shown queueing outside Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.
Palliative care doctor Rachel Clarke tweeted a photo, taken by registrar Punith Kempegowda, with the caption noting there was a “sick patient inside every one” of the vehicles.
“This is the reality of Covid – right here, right now. Hospitals are at breaking point,” Clarke said.
These ambulances are queuing outside Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham tonight. There’s a sick patient inside every one of them. They can’t even enter the building.
— Rachel Clarke (@doctor_oxford) December 29, 2020
This is the reality of Covid - right here, right now. Hospitals at breaking point. (H/T @drpunith) pic.twitter.com/YlKLH8GBUW
Health Secretary Matt Hancock is expected to tell the Commons on Wednesday more areas in England will be placed under the country’s toughest coronavirus restrictions.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson chaired a meeting of the Government’s Covid-19 Operations committee yesterday evening, when changes to the tier system were discussed.
Areas that may be moved from Tier 3 to Tier 4 include parts of the East Midlands, such as Northamptonshire and Leicestershire, as well as all areas of the West Midlands metropolitan county.
Hartlepool in north-east England, along with a handful of areas in Lancashire – Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Pendle and Ribble Valley – could also be upgraded.
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Coming soon to a city near you.
Take note donnelly
@Darren Byrne: cases in hospital rising by 50 each day, by this time next week we will be at capacity. Scary stuff. Full lockdown needed now not when it’s too late.,
@Macca Attack: No need to be hysterical. We won’t be anywhere near capacity in a weeks time.
@Darren Byrne: Donnelly is well aware of what’s happening in the UK. It’s the people in this country who need to take note. People need to start listening to and adhering to the public health advice and stop listening to “expert” Taxi drivers, amatuer epidemiologists and peddlers of anti-science tripe who claim to know the ‘truth’. I’m as sick to the boIIox as everyone else is of these restrictions, but unless someone can come up with a better alternative that doesn’t involve putting thousands of lives at risk, then we are where we are and need to suck it up.
@Darren Byrne: nothing to worry about here. The government made good on their promise to increase capacity in March and have motivated the student nurses by giving them some pay. Not!
@Tommy Roche: Spot on Tommy. Nobody wants the lockdowns but I can’t see any other solution until this thing is under control again.
@David Corrigan: agreed, as usual the anti vaxer brigade are out on force but no one listens to them anyway.
@Macca Attack: Yep. If they could post alternatives that made sense, then yes, people would listen. Factor in the fact that a lot of people won’t do as they are told and the only option left is to close it down water tight for a few weeks. Nobody wants that but there simply is no other choice.
@Darren Byrne: but it hasn’t happened here. Were doing far better than the UK, USA and so many others so relax the lot of you. We would be doing a lot better if everyone did what they are supposed to do.
@Paul Furey: Exactly but we can’t trust everyone to do the right thing so the only option available is to close/lock the whole place down for a few weeks.
@Darren Byrne: coming home from a ski holiday soon !
@Peter McGlynn: If our goal with respect to restrictions is to protect hospital capacity, then how would increasing capacity help in the slightest ? More capacity would mean waiting longer before needing to introduce restrictions which in turn would mean more spread, more infections, more hospitalisations, more ICU cases and ultimately more deaths.
@Macca Attack: that’s because they clear everyone one out over Christmas it’s not all covid
We here in Ireland are familiar with ambulances Q outside A&E
@Richard Russell: Are we?
@Ribeard Ó Fiachna: we need a full lock down and a curfew at 9 pm
@Richard Russell: oh ffs!
@Richard Russell: When was the last time you seen ambulances having to queue to get people into hospital ? Be honest.
@Richard Russell: when was the last time you saw it. Because I never did. And I’m in and out of hospitals regularly
@Tommy Roche: the night before last. I was working in one.
The English will ignore any lockdown like they have done for months now.
Their government has mad an absolute hames of this crisis, but even still there is absolutely no personal responsibility there.
@a: You must be delighted to get the opportunity to do a bit Brit bashing.
@Leonard Barry: its far better than self paddy bashing that so many here just adore to wallow in. And is more in line with the truth. So cop on to yourself.
@Leonard Barry: It’s not Brit bashing if the evidence is clear. The British government has been talking through both sides of its mouth since the pandemic began. They view everything from as PR perspective and only use science when it suits them. We are right to be very concerned when we have an irresponsible Trumpist regime as our neighbour.
@Leonard Barry: this a great hobby for sure :)
@Leonard Barry: is that all you are concerned about ..sad
Same happening here.
@ChronicAnxiety: No its not, hospitals are emptier than usual for this time of year.
@DK: keep telling yourself that
@DK: I actually don’t know if that’s true or not, but as of 10am this morning the INMO are reporting more than 220 on trolleys in the country’s hospitals. 183 in ED’s, 39 on wards.
@DK: sorry I obviously do not see the dozens of patients on trolleys in the last week, they may have got out of ambulance but have no beds
As of yesterday there are only 28 people in the Covid 19 Nightingale hospitals which have a capacity for about 15,000 people & these vast hospitals were specifically built to deal with the pandemic & so isolating people from other hospitalised folk & when it seems so many people enter hospital without the virus & then pick it up during their stay you’d wonder what they are doing?
This happens every winter in the uk the nhs is underfunded its not necessarily down to covid
The UK or just England?? Think its time to differentiate as the devolved government would appear to be trying harder than Westminster!
Sick people in an ambulance?
have your say