we are now in disaster medicine mode. We are no longer providing high standard critical care, because we cannot

[PinkDaffodil2]

Is this really how bad it is in London? And does it feel that way? I left a few weeks ago for a planned move up North and when I left things were quite steady, now it sounds like the hospitals are absolutely on their knees and expecting things to get worse.
The title is taken from an email Barts sent round to staff, I don’t know what I’m asking really but does it feel this bad in the capital at the moment?

Yes 90% of our itu capcity is now covid .we are full when non covid included. other london hospitals itu are full or filling up fast and ambulances are constant with very sick patients needing oxygen and intensive stabilation but there are no beds to move patients from a and e as patients are taking longer to discharge . So very sick patients are being stuck on ambulances who are then unable to collect other sick people who are then more likely to die or be very unwell at home...then the cycle continues

It’s not the same everywhere, no.

It's really frightened me. I'm not sending my kids in for 2 weeks initially.

On a personal level it's scary enough I could need hospital/die but to think I might not get treated.

I'm in London. I received a text from my GP practice a couple of days ago saying that all GP services were suspended for 2 weeks due to COVID, and to consult 111 or 999 for emergencies. It must be bad.

@PinkDaffodil2

Is this really how bad it is in London? And does it feel that way? I left a few weeks ago for a planned move up North and when I left things were quite steady, now it sounds like the hospitals are absolutely on their knees and expecting things to get worse. The title is taken from an email Barts sent round to staff, I don’t know what I’m asking really but does it feel this bad in the capital at the moment?

Yep. It's that bad.

In London, covid case rates have skyrocketed from 166 cases out of every 100,000 people at the beginning of December, to 814 cases in every 100,000 people this week.

That's almost a 5-fold increase in cases, thought to be largely down to the new strain.

Some areas of London (the Borough of Havering, for example) have over 1,280 covid cases per 100,000 people. That is exceptionally high and very frightening.

Source for the figures, backed up by the PHE tracker: www.standard.co.uk/news/london/covid-london-hospitals-warning-b550421.html?utm_source=taboola&utm_medium=Feed

@Dastardlythefriendlymutt
GP surgery closures will be due to cases within the surgery staff rather than anything to do with external case levels.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/coronavirus/4121671-We-are-now-in-disaster-medicine-mode-We-are-no-longer-providing-high-standard-critical-care-because-we-cannot

You can only depend on the latest news and messages each day, as to what is happening in the country. Things are changing very quickly now, and it's going beyond what the experts thought it would be like.

It stands to reason, that most hospitals in the country are being over run with the influx of covid patients, and are having to delay all other types of medical things. You can't expect all hospitals to magically expand and do all the things that they are meant to do, despite the awful things that are happening to others in great need.

Apparently there is also a big shortage of experienced doctors and other in some hospitals, and most of the ones working in the NHS, are going beyond in their care, and shattered at the state of things, and they can only just carry on, with what is happening now.

I'm not trying to be polemic... it's just that I read the Adam Kay book. In normal times for NHS clinical staff:

Leave gets cancelled last minute notice for many
Hospitals are overwhelmed in winter
Hospitals go on level 5 alert or whatever
Staff work stupidly long hours, beyond their rota and hourly rate is abysmal

So I can't grasp how much worse things are now from a 'normal' year.

@lljkk the stats aren't believable the government skews them to absolve themselves of their sheer incompetence
Notwithstanding we have a crisis on our hands
Life and death crisis

Someone on another forum said a couple of days ago that ambulance waiting times were three hours and patients were waiting up to eight hours to even be triaged at A&E in a south west London hospital. That's basically no emergency healthcare provision.
There are now more patients with Covid in London hospitals than in April and cases are still rising. It's bad and it's going to get a lot worse.

And spreading rapidly
People having to be admitted for general care as in not covid are being registered as covid deaths but they'd probably have been better to stay home and still be alive

One of my closest friends is a nurse in A and E. She has told us she's never seen anything like it. They have seen queues of 18 ambulances. The hospitals ICU and wards are full to the point that patients are having to be moved to other hospitals. The local community are providing care packages to staff who aren't leaving the hospital. We are in the South East.

@QueenStromba

Someone on another forum said a couple of days ago that ambulance waiting times were three hours and patients were waiting up to eight hours to even be triaged at A&E in a south west London hospital. That's basically no emergency healthcare provision. There are now more patients with Covid in London hospitals than in April and cases are still rising. It's bad and it's going to get a lot worse.

i agree , theres no way anything is getting anywhere near back to normal by easter . they are now saying maybe summer . im bracing myself that the whole of 2021 is going to just be a repeat of 2020 , and despite the fact im in tier 4 and work in am large store with a pharmacy we are busy and have been since boxing day with all these muppets coming in to knock themselves out buying xmas half price gift sets and everything else non essential and that includes the elderly and disabled as well.. they just arent taking any notice of what stay at home and only go out if absolutley needed bloody well means

It is normal for ambulances to Q for long periods at our nearest big acute hospital. I suspect bored reporters at the EDP drive by at random times on slow news days, just in case they can get a quick easy story.

But not right now. Ambulance Qing isn't a big story right now.

www.theguardian.com/society/2019/dec/20/doctors-told-to-use-least-unsafe-option-in-norwich-hospital
www.edp24.co.uk/news/health/ambulance-handovers-at-hospitals-still-too-long-1275446
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2893286/Accident-emergency-departments-pushed-breaking-point-New-Year-revellers-DOZEN-ambulances-pictured-queuing-outside-pressure-casualty-ward.html
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-21999859

Someone will come along soon and tell you this is absolutely and completely normal for the winter season. Apparently. I've never read of the NHS being in such high demand that patients are dying outside of hospitals in ambulances.

I went out last night in Central London, for essential shopping. Ambulances flying around everywhere, like they were in the Spring at the worst time.