Hospital’s critical care unit overwhelmed by coronavirus patients
https://www.hsj.co.uk/news/hospitals-critical-care-unit-overwhelmed-by-coronavirus-patients/7027189.article
.... message to staff, Northwick Park Hospital in Harrow...:
“I am writing to let you know that we have this evening declared a ‘critical incident’ in relation to our critical care capacity at Northwick Park Hospital.
This is due to an increasing number of patients with Covid-19.
“This means that we currently do not have enough space for patients requiring critical care.
A senior director at another London acute trust told HSJ:
“Given we’re in the low foothills of this virus, this is f+++ing petrifying.
“The thing people aren’t really talking about yet is that we are going to have to quickly agree some clinical thresholds for admissions to intensive care.
This is what the Italians have had to do,
and whether it’s set at 60 or whatever,
we are going to have to do something similar.
There’s no way we’re going to be able to scale up to the level we need otherwise.
“The trusts in outer London seem to be hit much worse at the moment, probably about two weeks ahead of the rest of the country.
Barnet, Lewisham and Greenwich, Epsom and St Helier, North Middlesex and Hillingdon are all struggling.
“I was in denial about the seriousness of this virus a couple of weeks ago, but not anymore.
“I’m now on calls with commissioners about getting more people out of hospital and into the community,
and they’re saying ’yes that’ll be done in the next week’,
and I’m on the verge of screaming at them.
Things are going completely nuts."