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Covid

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Original poster

Are there any A and E / hospital staff here? What are hospitals actually like at the moment?

53 replies

Bagelsandbrie · 13/07/2020 19:44

So lockdown is easing and we are being led to believe that cases are dropping etc. Is that actually the experience of those on the frontline? We don’t seem to hear any actual stories of those working in the midst of things at the moment. I have no agenda or angle about this at all I’m literally just being nosey.

The cases in Florida got me thinking about this. They’ve gone nuts but I wondered if there was still the same huge amount of hospitalisations per increase in cases or whether somehow the virus is becoming weaker..?!

Interested to hear experiences.

OP posts:

Babyvibe · 13/07/2020 20:39

I work in radiology so lots of contact with a&e but am on maternity leave at the minute. From speaking to colleagues and also family I have working for nhs I have been told numbers have gone down a lot in case of admissions and a lot more people being able to go home. However, numbers have not gone down anywhere near enough to not be concerned. Still a lot of risk there.

thefruityelf · 13/07/2020 20:54

I'm following this as I'm interested to know too.

JosephineDeBeauharnais · 13/07/2020 20:57

Saw a pal tonight at exercise class- she’s a hospital pharmacist. She said they’d been crazy busy all day today and the hospital is full, not necessarily with COVID patients, but full nevertheless.

Kaykay066 · 13/07/2020 20:59

Paeds nurse just home now, all of our trusts a&e were very busy today we were normal for a Monday things are Certainly getting busier but not sure re covid as we rarely get kids with it. But the hospital is certainly going back to normal numbers

Arnoldthecat · 13/07/2020 21:03

I think there is real danger at the moment. From my experience its almost impossible to get a GP practice to answer the phone let alone getting an audience with a GP. Its like trying to get to see the Great Oz. Its got to the point where i have considered just going to A&E as i feel ignored and fobbed off by my practice. More of a nuisance than a patient.

dalmatianmad · 13/07/2020 21:13

I'm an A+E Sister, our department is split into Red (potential or confirmed covid) and green (likely non covid).
We have been really quiet for a few weeks now, patients literally being seen by the Drs on arrival.
Seejng lots of poorly mental health and genuine poorly people that are grateful for our care.
But for the last couple of weeks it's like bloody normal, people attending with stupid things, abdo pain for 3 months, ingrowing toe nails, irregular periods, rash for 1 year, needing help to stop drinking.....
The waiting time has crept back up to 4 hours, patients are being arsey and abusive again

ChasingRainbows19 · 13/07/2020 21:18

Hospital in the north. Maybe 1/2 in critical care and a few on wards. Last I heard anyway. Lowest it’s been, however the hospital is now busy with lots of non covid patients throughout. Some surgery is happening and other things off site where possible. No visiting unless exceptional circ.

OrangeSamphire · 13/07/2020 21:21

I’m not a HCP but I have been in hospital for seven weeks with my daughter.

There are no Covid patients in this hospital and haven’t been for four weeks.

The children’s ward is quiet. Some nights my daughter has been the only patient. Tonight there are two others. Throughout our entire stay almost every other patient has been mental health or oncology. That’s it.

Riv12345 · 13/07/2020 21:26

I work in a large busy hospital

We only have 2 Covid wards now.
There's 7 patients on one and 5 patients in the other

We also have 2 completely empty wards!!
I'm working there 21 years I have never seen an empty ward.
There has always been a cry for beds and lots of bed blockers!!
They have cancelled all the bank and agency staff

It's all very strange.

Arnoldthecat · 13/07/2020 21:26

Dalmatianmad abdo pain for 3 months why might this be perceived as an un-necessary visit ? I'm thinking someone could have just sat on the problem,tried to manage,self medicate,been unable to access a GP etc ??

Sweetnhappy1 · 13/07/2020 21:35

@Arnoldthecat I'm a GP and have been working full on every day through lockdown. This morning our practice had a telephone list of 60 calls to return by 9.30. It's really really busy. Not Covid related, all normal stuff. If your practice aren't answering the phone, go on their website. Pretty much every practice has a system of asking questions online/by email and you can get a call back that way. We're not designed for so many calls. We only have three functioning phone lines.

peanacat · 13/07/2020 21:41

My whole Trust (2 hospitals over a whole county) have only 5 covid patients between them and the number has been down for weeks. All additional ITUs we had made are now closed as not needed and we have loads of empty beds. Workload for me is picking back up to pre-Covid levels now, but not with Covid related activity.. feels like things are returning to normal here. I am a rural county in the Midlands, so not Birmingham, but not far.

Sweetnhappy1 · 13/07/2020 21:41

@dalmatianmad thank you for everything you are doing. We have telephone slots that NHS 111 are able to directly book into, do you guys have access to them? The stuff you mentioned above should be coming our way, not yours.

PermanentTemporary · 13/07/2020 21:46

I work on acute medical, acute surgical, critical care, oncology and emergency assessment unit (next stage after A&E if they think they may be able to get you home without admitting you). I'm in the South East.

There are very few Covid patients in the hospitals I work at now. It's much busier than it was during May as most services have restarted. It honestly feels - normal. (It helps that I've had Covid).

March, April, May and June were not normal at all. It was a very bizarre time in the hospitala and April in particular was very extreme. It's just not like that now.

Arnoldthecat · 13/07/2020 21:48

Hi Sweetnhappy1 .. yes i appreciate the issues. I am also a key worker and have worked straight through. Not only have i had to deal with the mental strain of this fiasco but also my health issues. I'm at the point now where i think i will either have to vist A&E at some point and/or simply pay for a private consultation.

Brieminewine · 13/07/2020 21:50

@Arnoldthecat because if you’ve had abdo pain for three months it is neither an accident or emergency as you should see your GP

But for the last couple of weeks it's like bloody normal, people attending with stupid things, abdo pain for 3 months, ingrowing toe nails, irregular periods, rash for 1 year, needing help to stop drinking.....

Yes to this we are having the exact same problem, I actually saw someone book in with a spelk the other day! All the time wasters and frequent flyers are creeping back in so the non covid side is manic dealing with them and also patients suffering the ill effects of cancelled surgeries, investigation etc for the last five months who are now at breaking point! Covid side has been very quiet tho, i suspect it won’t be long before we end the segregation.

dalmatianmad · 13/07/2020 21:56

Arnoldthecat do you think its acceptable to come to an EMERGENCY department with a problem that's been going on for 3 months?!
If you've had the problem for so long it's very unlikely to be anything urgent like a bowel obstruction or an appendicitis!

It's been quite an eye opener to see all the usual crappy problems and frequent attenders stay away, they have been too afraid to come in for fear of catching covid. Just goes to show that they didn't need to be there in the first place!

ohthegoats · 13/07/2020 22:03

In the last 3 weeks my partner had suspected cancer surgery, with overnight stays, I've had a GP phone appt, and a GP appt in person, then a cancer screening appt - never rains and all that! Anyway, all appts were quick to get and super efficient. The hospital departments have been really well run every time - more efficient than usual. Consultants in each case have said they are quiet.

Uhoh2020 · 13/07/2020 22:06

[quote Sweetnhappy1]@Arnoldthecat I'm a GP and have been working full on every day through lockdown. This morning our practice had a telephone list of 60 calls to return by 9.30. It's really really busy. Not Covid related, all normal stuff. If your practice aren't answering the phone, go on their website. Pretty much every practice has a system of asking questions online/by email and you can get a call back that way. We're not designed for so many calls. We only have three functioning phone lines.[/quote]
Do you think you are really busy now due to the people that have been putting off attending the GP surgery due to covid and now feel either its safer to attend or they just cant put it off any longer ?

EmergencyPractitioner · 13/07/2020 22:20

Very busy in my hospital back to normal attendance levels

Emeraldshamrock · 13/07/2020 22:21

The reduced Covid19 patients is good to hear. Sorry to those on the frontline have to put up with silly beggars again.

Sparklehead · 13/07/2020 22:28

I’m an AHP on a surgical ward in a large acute hospital. We only have 1 Covid ward now, and it’s not at full capacity. My ward has been full throughout with patients requiring Emergency surgery. Other wards are filling up now as treatment/medical procedures resume. The hospital is still zoned in colours - yellow is Covid, green, likely non-Covid and we now have super green for elective surgery when patients have to isolate prior to admission and all patients and staff are tested to ensure it stays free of Covid. Outpatients are beginning to resume some face to face clinics and, from today, visitors are allowed back in (limited in numbers and you have to book not just turn up). So, some normality resuming.

felixowl · 13/07/2020 22:28

@Sweetnhappy
Are these websites secure? According to someone on here a few months ago they are run by outside contractors who have access to our personal data which they harvest and then sell on.
If this is true it seems a bit cheeky!

Sweetnhappy1 · 13/07/2020 22:34

@Uhoh2020 Yes I do feel that there is a lot of this. Quite a lot of people who would have presented earlier but didn't from March - June are presenting now. Some people are more sick than they should be because they were too scared to present earlier. E.g. I've had patients sit at home with chest pain and shortness of breath for a couple of weeks rather than go to A&E. They are so scared of catching Covid, I have to explain that the heart attack is far more likely to kill them than the virus.

Our practice have tried to deal with everything we can on the phone or by video throughout, we've never said only contact us if it is urgent. But I do appreciate that it isn't the same everywhere. Some patients are calling us now thinking that they couldn't contact us earlier because it wasn't urgent, but that was never the case. It was the case however that we were a bit limited with how much onward referral we could do. Having said that, in my area, cancer referrals, surgery and radiotherapy have been going on throughout, again this has been area dependent I think. The peak here in South London was in March, not April.

Original poster

Bagelsandbrie · 13/07/2020 22:36

How interesting! Thank you for all your replies. It’s reassuring that the Covid cases seem on the decline from what some of you have said. I was wondering if the media was downplaying things or what was happening - of course this is only a snapshot but it’s very interesting to read.

I’m sorry for those of you who are struggling through all this, working some very stressful roles.

OP posts:

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