London Hospital declares Major Incident.

[RubyViolet]

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 ?

So are there examples of hospitals declaring major incidents pre-COVID because of lack of oxygen?

Oxygen is given first and then CPAP is considered if there is no improvement.

My mum had a severe respiratory illness for over a quarter of her life and was hospitalised on numberous occasions. There were many, many times when the hospital struggled to cope. Like the time she had seven beds in six days and not one of those beds was on a proper respiratory ward with piped oxygen (even though her lung function was less than 30%). That particular incident occurred under the previous Labour Government, as did most of the other incidents as she died in 2012. The NHS hasn’t been able to cope with respiratory illnesses for decades and it is about time someone did something about it.

Thing is when previous major incidents/black alert ( which id imagine most hospitals in London are already over and above) no one but NHS staff and patients really notice, it doesn’t impact the general publictheir day to day life. Nothing closes down.

However in a worldwide pandemic where restrictions cause them to be affected, suddenly they are aware it happens every year, it’s no big deal. NHS staff can cope. It’s scaremongering to suggest a pandemic will make normal winter pressures worse! Fancy that.... I’ll just inform my already knackered colleagues in a&e/med wards/crit care/ that it’s all fine. Nothing to worry about.

Will you be saying that in a weeks time when people can’t be treated? Nowhere to divert them to? No beds? The nhs has already created more crit care and medical beds in hospitals where there is space for this. But extra staff? Doubt there is.

Inhad to talk to the coroner after my mum died last week. They are fucking overwhelmed, the registrar said the same. Stop minimalising

I’ve just spent 9 nights in hospital fighting for my life. I’m extremely lucky to still be alive. I was on CPAP - it saved me. I am still very ill but consider myself lucky to have caught COVID when I did - before Christmas, rather than now. My physical and mental health is in crisis. I have no idea whether I shall ever fully recover.

Those if you who are saying it’s just the same as always have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. There is a lack of working equipment on the COVID wards. Nurses are stealing what monitoring equipment there is from patients as they are fighting for their lives. It happened to me on several occasions. I was told off for letting someone take it from me during the night. Gradually the equipment stopped working. Blood pressure monitors not working. Oxygen level monitors not working. Just one machine in the ward for 5 women. Sometimes not working at all.

There are going to be many people dying soon.

Keep it away from your home and the people you love.

My DH is currently very ill with it too. But he’s not at risk - just very ill.

The strain on the healthcare system is increasing daily, & what we are facing is in no way the same as that we face every year. These are not usual winter pressures. ICU doctor, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS.
mobile.twitter.com/charlot_summers/status/1343176819428749314

Does everyone remember last year or was it the beginning of this one ? Little boy lying on the floor in a hospital in Leeds ?

Remember the huge backlash against that story on social media/print media ?

I wonder how many of the 'oh this happens every year, nothing to see' people were the ones who were saying 'this is made up, nothing to see' back then, when there was an election in the offing ?

So many people on this thread are just salivating at the drama of it.

I’d honestly like to know how closing outside, socially distanced coffee queues would help. I’d also like to know why those really vulnerable older folk don’t stay at home for now. My MIL refuses to. She breaks all the rules, my poor teenagers break none.

This is just so frightening for patients on end of life care. My mum wasn't an anxious woman, but in her final weeks her lungs kept filling with fluid and she felt as if she was drowning. She became panicky when switching between oxygen cylinders, let alone having to go without. It's unspeakably awful.

@CountessFrog

So many people on this thread are just salivating at the drama of it.

I’d honestly like to know how closing outside, socially distanced coffee queues would help. I’d also like to know why those really vulnerable older folk don’t stay at home for now. My MIL refuses to. She breaks all the rules, my poor teenagers break none.

There is no helping people like you. I detest drama - I’m one of the calmest people you are ever likely to meet.

Take a look at my CPAP thread and perhaps learn something that might save lives.

@Frdexu

Rather than pointing to red alerts in previous years as evidence that this occurrence is normal, the question should be why lockdowns and other restrictions have never been imposed previously in order to save lives.

One good thing to come from this crisis will hopefully be that lockdowns are an acceptable tool in the armoury to support the NHS and make our brave doctors' and nurses' lives easier.

There should have been a lockdown during the 2017/18 flu season to protect the NHS and save lives. But the tories prioritised the economy over lives as usual.

Or how about funding the NHS properly?

So the oxygen is actually needed for ventilators then ....

The article (that you linked to) specifically says that they are not needing to use ventilators as much because of the improved treatments for Covid, but that the problem is that ventilators use less oxygen than the other machines that they are using more now.

Then again, the Independent is just like a left wing Daily Mail these days so I wouldn't trust it as a source to be honest.

Major incident happen EVERY year scare mongering on half truths and rumours really does't help.
As for planning for this do you think anyone could successfully plan for every eventuality .
Repiping hospitals for more oxygen supply would be impossible at the moment people have no grasp of what would be involved .
Whilst poster very vocal about government short coming no mention of the main cause . People will not conform stop meeting and sty in you shouldn't have to be told by government it's common sense don't meet people.
Endless threads on here about Christmas and people doing what the fuck they like won't make sacrifices and this is the result.

[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]
depends
the home cpap machine to alleviate snoring use room air. in hospitals some are used with oxygen for very ill patients for whom intubation is too invasive or not quite needed (yet).

@LittleSpyintheSky

I’ve just spent 9 nights in hospital fighting for my life. I’m extremely lucky to still be alive. I was on CPAP - it saved me. I am still very ill but consider myself lucky to have caught COVID when I did - before Christmas, rather than now. My physical and mental health is in crisis. I have no idea whether I shall ever fully recover.

Those if you who are saying it’s just the same as always have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. There is a lack of working equipment on the COVID wards. Nurses are stealing what monitoring equipment there is from patients as they are fighting for their lives. It happened to me on several occasions. I was told off for letting someone take it from me during the night. Gradually the equipment stopped working. Blood pressure monitors not working. Oxygen level monitors not working. Just one machine in the ward for 5 women. Sometimes not working at all.

There are going to be many people dying soon.

Keep it away from your home and the people you love.

My DH is currently very ill with it too. But he’s not at risk - just very ill.

I hope you continue to improve and that your husband recovers swiftly. It must have been awful, so glad you are pulling through.

We need to hear from people like you and learn. This is real !

Coronavirus: Hundreds of British skiers flee Swiss Verbier quarantine www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-55465079

Seriously - what are people doing given the current situation going skiing in Switzerland??

@RubyViolet

I started this thread to help people see what is happening in London, the media aren’t focusing on this because of Brexit / Christmas. People have a right to know.

Sure keep telling yourself that.

@rwalker

Major incident happen EVERY year scare mongering on half truths and rumours really does't help. As for planning for this do you think anyone could successfully plan for every eventuality . Repiping hospitals for more oxygen supply would be impossible at the moment people have no grasp of what would be involved . Whilst poster very vocal about government short coming no mention of the main cause . People will not conform stop meeting and sty in you shouldn't have to be told by government it's common sense don't meet people. Endless threads on here about Christmas and people doing what the fuck they like won't make sacrifices and this is the result.

And now we are most likely facing a further enforcement of lockdown because of the people who just won’t listen, take this seriously and abide by the rules. The NHS has been criminally underinvested in during the last 10 plus years of austerity. The’ W stripped public services down to the barebones and now we find ourselves here.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/fears-tier-5-lockdown-england-23230646

@JumpLeadsForTwo

Coronavirus: Hundreds of British skiers flee Swiss Verbier quarantine www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-55465079

Seriously - what are people doing given the current situation going skiing in Switzerland??

They were supposed to be quarantining in their chalets but left during the night. Selfish bastards.

@TheoriginalLEM

Inhad to talk to the coroner after my mum died last week. They are fucking overwhelmed, the registrar said the same. Stop minimalising

Sorry for your loss.

@JumpLeadsForTwo

Coronavirus: Hundreds of British skiers flee Swiss Verbier quarantine www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-55465079

Seriously - what are people doing given the current situation going skiing in Switzerland??

They own or have booked chalets (with other people) and want to use them.

Not saying I agree but that's what they are doing.

The underfunding doesn’t help. But it’s probably a less significant factor than you think, IMHO.

The reason the rest of the world is attempting to control the virus is because their healthcare systems will get overwhelmed if they don’t. This is not an NHS specific problem. Germany has much more capacity than we do and they’ve been very clear that increasing cases will overwhelm their system. That’s why they extended their lockdown.

I think France are considering a new lockdown because their new cases are now around 15,000 a day. Ours are 41,000 and still rising. lack of funding is not what is going to cause any difference in health outcomes. It’s a criminal level of inaction.

I get they have booked a holiday, but would you not seriously think twice about going in the first place given the escalating situation across Europe, and leaving mid quarantine- no words.

@RubyViolet

For disclosure, l am in Central London with a husband who has under treatment for Cancer at a large North London Hospital. He is out of the woods now l think ( touch wood, cross fingers, ) but this situation scares me should he need more care. His observations/ scans have been less frequent than they should (every 3 months’ )and we haven’t seen a Consultant since February, it’s all done on the phone. So this does impact my life.

@Lookslikerainted