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London Hospital declares Major Incident.

426 replies

RubyViolet · 28/12/2020 16:55

This is frightening, and it’s not the hospital that l have heard about earlier today. This is in South London and l am hearing about a hospital in North London.
www.independent.co.uk/news/health/coronavirus-london-queen-elizabeth-hospital-oxygen-b1779468.html

What happens next ?

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RaspberryCoulis · 28/12/2020 18:33

I bet for every doctor hand=picked by the scare-mongering BBC, you could find another who says they're coping fine.

But believe what you want, it will make zero difference.

Bathroom12345 · 28/12/2020 18:33

If it’s a matter of life and death it is! Or you could wait for an ambulance. Accept that broken bones are different but honestly I think some people’s expectations are ridiculous in Dec, with bad weather and in the middle of a pandemic.

I am going to leave this thread now. Doom and glommers everywhere!

Swissrollypoly · 28/12/2020 18:36

Exactly a month ago the same thing happened at The Royal Stoke University Hospital.

www.google.com/amp/s/www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/uk-news/major-incident-declared-stoke-hospital-19364546.amp

Retiremental · 28/12/2020 18:40

@Bathroom12345

And YES, hospitals are busy every single DEC-FEB.
Which is why the great British public were implored to reduce the risk of this fucking virus spreading like wildfire. That worked out well Hmm
Witchend · 28/12/2020 18:40

@Bathroom12345

It always surprises me as well that people wait hours and hours for an ambulance. I would get in my car, ask a neighbour, or even call a taxi.

If it that urgent I certainly wouldn’t be waiting around for an ambulance.

If it was really serious once you got to the hospital then you would be triaged in.

Just waiting for the doom and gloomers who say they don’t have a car, and cannot ask their neighbours etc etc.

You can't always get someone in a car.

Friend's dc often dislocates his kneecap. He needs an ambulance for two reasons. Firstly he needs pain relief (normally gas and air) to move, secondly he can't bend his knee, so can't get into a normal car. When he was smaller you could just about pick him up and lie him in the back, but he's now over 6'.

Other things you don't want to move them for fear of causing more damage. Or because that sitting up could cause worse symptoms.

The time I was waiting for an ambulance that I talked about upthread, the lady in question was unconscious. We suspected stroke, but had no way of verifying that. Moving her could have been dangerous.
In her case, when she did gain consciousness, we did get her into a car and to the hospital, where, yes, she had had a stroke( and did recover).
But triaged in, yes, she was, it was only another 6 hours before she got seen, she was seen as high priority too. It's not just about getting an ambulance. It's also about when you get there too.

I also know someone who was driving their child to hospital, got stuck in a traffic jam on the way into the car park, looked back and realised that they'd stopped breathing. They grabbed their child and ran (got a parking ticket too). The hospital told them off for trying to drive in, as if they hadn't looked back and realised at that moment then it could easily have been too late.

RubyViolet · 28/12/2020 18:40

I find the reality deniers quite fascinating. I suppose if it helps you to bury your head in the sand and pretend it’s not happening l can’t blame you.
I imagine a lot of people are overwhelmed and just can’t face upto this reality. It’s doomy and gloomy.
But this is severe , it’s real and it’s happening. it’s New Years Eve in 3 days when people who deny this is happening might decide to mix with friends and families.
So the Government need to help people to wake up before the NHS faces even more tragedy and chaos in January.

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bornatXmastobequiet · 28/12/2020 18:40

I am going to leave this thread now. Doom and glommers everywhere!

Yes, isn’t it extraordinary that in the middle of a pandemic and with hospitals in crisis, some people are feeling doomy and gloomy?
You’d think they’re finding the situation somewhat unusual.

Blondiney · 28/12/2020 18:41

Terrifying. In 2018 I was hospitalised and put on oxygen for 12 hours. My lips were blue by the time the ambulance got to me but thank god it did. I live alone and likely wouldn't be here now if I hadn't received hospital treatment.

corythatwas · 28/12/2020 18:41

Get a grip. Major incidences are announced every year and we have an NHS that’s overwhelmed every winter. In 2018 the flu season saw severe shortage of beds and emergency measures taken. No one seemed to be too bothered then though.

Surely you can see the difference between a shortage of beds and a shortage of oxygen?

Last year when my dd was admitted to hospital there was a shortage of beds. What that meant was she had to lie on a stretcher in a corridor for a few hours. It was not ideal. But there was no way it was going to kill her either.

Lack of oxygen on the other hand...

HarveySchlumpfenburger · 28/12/2020 18:41

Is anyone else wondering how bad it has to get before some people admit we might have an unusual and unprecedented problem?

Elephant4 · 28/12/2020 18:43

Well then something needs doing long term. The fact that it has happened before makes it significantly worse in my eyes.

This hospital disaster is much more about the history of Tory NHS underfunding/destruction than COVID-19.

yellowmaoampinball · 28/12/2020 18:45

My sister has been working as a nurse for about 20 years now and says this is the worst she's seen too. But I guess the BBC must have to to her too...

yellowmaoampinball · 28/12/2020 18:45

*got to her

HazeyJaneII · 28/12/2020 18:46

@Bathroom12345

It always surprises me as well that people wait hours and hours for an ambulance. I would get in my car, ask a neighbour, or even call a taxi.

If it that urgent I certainly wouldn’t be waiting around for an ambulance.

If it was really serious once you got to the hospital then you would be triaged in.

Just waiting for the doom and gloomers who say they don’t have a car, and cannot ask their neighbours etc etc.

When my mum had a catastrophic bleed on the brain in June, there is no way she could have been transported to the hospital in anything other than an ambulance. When my ds had a major burn, we needed to wait for an ambulance...When he has had breathing difficulties....again, it need an ambulance. Sometimes it is dangerous to go in a car.
RubyViolet · 28/12/2020 18:47

To all the posters advocating asking the neighbours for a lift to hospital. I don’t know if l will be volunteering to take Covid Positive neighbours to hospital myself. I think there may be a rather large flaw in that plan.

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FourTeaFallOut · 28/12/2020 18:47

I think some people’s expectations are ridiculous in Dec

My level of expectation is to hold on long enough with my ventolin in hand to get to the oxygen - even in December @bathroom12345

Wonderfulstuff · 28/12/2020 18:47

When subsequent governments have routinely underfunded the NHS, and the staff that work within it, this current crisis shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.

HazeyJaneII · 28/12/2020 18:48

As for the worry over hospitals, I will listen to the staff in my local health care trust, my ds's paed and our GP who are indeed worried. Yes they have had crises before (I know because we have been in corridors with ds waiting for beds to free up), but they are saying that they are worried over and above that at the moment. It's one of the reasons why we have been advised to keep ds home from school.
It's not scaremongering to be aware of the risks, try to do what we can to avoid them and hope the government do the right thing.

TwigTheWonderKid · 28/12/2020 18:49

@RafaIsTheKingOfClay

Is anyone else wondering how bad it has to get before some people admit we might have an unusual and unprecedented problem?
It's the combination of this unusual and unprecedented situation combined with the cumulative effect of years of underfunding, removing bursaries for nursing staff etc, though isn't it?
Hollyhobbi · 28/12/2020 18:49

@Passmeabottlemrjones a Cpap machine only needs an electrical source not oxygen. It uses ambient room air, the same air we all breathe in. My dad uses a Cpap machine at night and it probably saved his life back in March after he caught Covid.

Frdexu · 28/12/2020 18:50

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

RubyViolet · 28/12/2020 18:51

@HazeyJaneII

As for the worry over hospitals, I will listen to the staff in my local health care trust, my ds's paed and our GP who are indeed worried. Yes they have had crises before (I know because we have been in corridors with ds waiting for beds to free up), but they are saying that they are worried over and above that at the moment. It's one of the reasons why we have been advised to keep ds home from school. It's not scaremongering to be aware of the risks, try to do what we can to avoid them and hope the government do the right thing.
Stay well HazeyJane. You are doing the best for your son.
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Passmeabottlemrjones · 28/12/2020 18:53

No one gave a fuck when tens of thousands of people died of flu in 2018 and the NHS was completely overwhelmed. Clearly they didn't care because the Tories were voted back in again in 2019 - I know there was zero competition in that election but still!

lyinginthegutterstaringatstars · 28/12/2020 18:54

Thai happens every year with D and V bugs.

RubyViolet · 28/12/2020 18:55

[quote Hollyhobbi]@Passmeabottlemrjones a Cpap machine only needs an electrical source not oxygen. It uses ambient room air, the same air we all breathe in. My dad uses a Cpap machine at night and it probably saved his life back in March after he caught Covid.[/quote]
I hadn’t thought of this.
So the oxygen is actually needed for ventilators then ....

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