To wonder why was the hospital empty today?

[SpicyEnchiladas]

Can someone please explain this if they knew. We live in one of the highest areas of cases of covid in the north west, and are constantly told by the local papers about our hospitals not coping at all!

So my friend had a car accident on boxing day and although she wasn't visibly injured, she was taken to the hospital to check that she's fine as she was very shaken after that. She dreaded going with the medics and avoided going to the hospital for the fear of long queues and catching Covid! She was seen after 10 minutes, had her x-rays taken, two consultants checked on her and was done within an hour!! When she came back home she said that they were only a few patients inside and it all went smoothly. Much better than her experience in hospitals before Covid.

Today, I had to drop my mum off to the A&E for severe pain in head and ears. She was fainting and couldn't even walk but they didn't let me in with her as per the guidelines. TBH what's what we expected anyway. I left her after the nurse reassured me that they will keep a close eye on her in case if she faints again in the waiting area. I left and before getting in my car, I received a call asking me to return to the hospital as she will be transferred to the ambulatory care immediately. They said that it's fine to have me with her to provide company and reassurance as it's likely that she'll be there for a few hours.

We stayed for nearly 4 hours, during that time I've been in and out of the department to use the phone, move my car from the drop off area, go to the pharmacy... it was nearly empty!! Only a few nurses insight. I was actually a bit scared whilst walking to the hospital's pharmacy as it was all dark all the way. Very quiet and unusual!! There were 5 people in the ambulatory care and plenty of empty beds and patient rooms.
I noticed the same whilst passing other departments.

I'm not doubting that Covid is indeed straining the nhs, but can someone explain why was the hospital not busy and nearly empty on both occasions despite us being constantly told that a&e isn't coping in our town?

You won't have been anywhere near icu, I had to go to gynae in midst of the pandemic (April) to get there you walk directly past a&e and through out patients. It was deathly quiet but i know in my hospital (and have visited) the icu which is on the other side of the hospital.

Don't forget as well that icu wards are generally tiny in comparison to other wards/units due to type of critical care required and equipment used hence why these wards are overrun.

What's wrong is for the media to hype and say hospitals are overrun as this gets everyone on their high horse when they see other areas quiet. What's also wrong is closing down other safe parts of the hospital where vital treatment is required. Two nurses I know (breast cancer care and paediatrics) both have been removed at some point from their role to help but said they felt more a burden than help as they are not trained in such critical care

Do you think they put covid patients in the A&E waiting room or in the pharmacy? Idiot.

Gosh, I'm flummoxed. No clinics or elective surgery held on Boxing Day or New Year's Day. All quiet around the pharmacy. The public avoiding A&E. Why could this be?
How dare they keep Covid patients in ITU and on respiratory wards where you can't see them?

I went to a and e a couple of months ago. I was there about 5 mins before being triaged and rerouted to urgent care. They were clearly trying to get people out of the waiting room asap.

I've also heard that 111 can book you a slot at a and e, to reduce people in the waiting room. So rather than sit there for 4 hours, you get told to go there in 4 hours.

Hospitals during the day in covid times are like hospitals at night during non covid times. No visitors, no clinics, staff and patients confined to their wards.
Accident and emergency is divided, covid side and non covid side. Covid side is bursting at the seams. ICU, HDU, CCU are full. So it looks quiet, it feels like there is nothing happening but it is all happening behind closed doors

Because everybody’s hysterically lying and covid’s not really that bad.

That’s what you want to hear, right?

Or alternatively, a few seconds of thought might help you work this out.

When we were in full-Covid state (I’m in a different country), not only did only people with emergencies present to ED (an extremely unsual situation) but there were fewer emergencies. I’m at a major trauma centre and we had hardly any trauma calls, usually a big part of our work. People staying home, sporting events cancelled, these things had a major impact on the rest of our service.

Not to mention we didn’t get a single child with bronchiolitis or child or adult with influenza in the middle of winter.....staying home and washing hands saved hospital beds.

Not only are all the Covid patient admitted separately to specific wards, but remember that the staff caring for them aren't going to be popping to the cafeteria or walk to another department due to infection control. Visiting hours won't see the usual families visiting relatives. Many, many procedures have been cancelled so you won't have the usual clinics, day patients and short term inpatients - and that explains the pharmacy being quiet too as they aren't prepping discharge meds for hundreds of patients.

You wouldn't happen to be taking about Carlisle hospital would you OP? If so it's because of the lack of routine appointments and the fact that people are trying to avoid going there at all costs because it appears to be so rife in the area. Upstairs in the wards though.....totally different story.

I work in a London hospital. If you went into our Antenatal ward today there were 2 clients. That’s because it’s a cold ward and nearly all our antenatal inpatients are covid positive. On maternity triage today it was quiet- it’s New Year’s Day after all. The few clients you would have seen were waiting all day to get transferred to the covid ward. If you had come yesterday you would have seen 4 harassed midwives on the verge of a breakdown and patients waiting for 6 hours to be seen by a doctor, it was chaos. One snapshot into a hospital does not tell the whole story.

Special measures have been taken to keep corridors empty and keep Covid patients somewhere you won't come into contact with them.

They will do everything they can to get you in and out quickly if you absolutely must be there.

Someone filmed empty corridors and waiting rooms in our local hospital. They didn't film the ambulances backed up in the car park.

I have little experience of hospitals but even I know that Covid patients will be in closed wards behind doors, not hanging around waiting rooms and corridors.

It’s almost like they keep covid patients separate from the rest of the patients! Did you expect to see them lining the corridors?

In a way, I’d love to be as naive as the OP.

Don't be silly Xenia.

Private healthcare doesn't have any sort of A&E or emergency medicine.

Private op goes wrong? RTA? Off to the NHS A&E you go.

OP that wasn't my 83 year old dm's experience recently. She was taken to hospital by paramedics at 10am, waiting outside in an ambulance until 6am (I expect the inside of A&E did look pretty quiet to a casual observer during this time), waited in A&E for a bed on the medical assessment unit for 24 hours. They were able to start treatment in A&E so fair enough.

She was hypothermic, dehydrated, with a UTI, pneumonia and sepsis. Even with its resources stretched to the limit, the NHS still saved her life.

Thank you all NHS workers.

Sorry, taken to hospital in the evening at 10pm.

I see the OP has dropped and run. How strange.

Ironically I went to minor injuries three weeks ago with a nasty cut on my finger and a mother brought her older daughter in and said to the receptionist she had Covid symptoms - WTF! Took the receptionist four minutes to move them to a side room at which point I had said I was leaving after being the only person in the waiting room for nearly two hours and then I managed to get seen. I was really expecting there to be better procedures in place in case any plonkers came in with symptoms.... especially to minor injuries which is all they treat there!

Ds1 many years ago was discharged from paeds at 3am ish. We were walking through what was usually a busy route through the hospital but we met one person the whole way. I don't mind admitting that I was on edge the whole way.
Should I have inferred that the hospital was quiet? Bollocks.

Some stupid cow has recently filmed inside a hospital local to me. They went to outpatients two days after Christmas and were surprised that it was quiet. Given dh has regular appointments there and these have recently been off site in a private clinic it's exactly what you would expect to see.
Critical thinking seems to have become a thing of the past for some.

This sort of post is all over Facebook. I am actually stunned that it is that difficult for people to figure out to be honest.

There’s seperate hot (covid) and cold areas and no outpatients/electives/ only emergency pharmacy/pathology etc on bank holidays. I expe Dr many people are also staying away from a&e

Well it’s great your friend was seen and treated so quickly. Come back when things are normal and you’ll be moaning she had to sit there for hours. Can’t bloody win can we.

Should we line up the covid patients in the corridors so you can visualise them?

I assume you only went to a&e and not the wards?

My GP has texted everyone to say they are not providing any care now other than CV19 or anything life threatening - first time has happened in my life. It simply confirms to me that the NHS is never really there when you need it and we should be allowed an opt out and 20% tax cut if we opt out of it.

Or maybe it just shows how overrun the NHS is? Not heard of that from GPs but there are only so many Drs. They get Covid too.

BTW interesting that you would opt out of the NHS. What would happen in an emergency? Car accident? Complications post surgery? I wasn't aware private offered 100% care in all circumstances in the UK.

Op , you’re either incredibly naive or incredibly goady.

My GP has texted everyone to say they are not providing any care now other than CV19 or anything life threatening - first time has happened in my life. It simply confirms to me that the NHS is never really there when you need it and we should be allowed an opt out and 20% tax cut if we opt out of it.

@Xenia where do you live?