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?

"Xenia, you are the absolute best advertisement for Marxism and the Confiscation of Wealth."

SonEtLumiere

Xenia, your 20% won’t go far if anyone in in your family, like two recently in mine, need oncology services or if you have a hereditary genetic condition as a friend of mine in the US has!🤣

My personal experience is it has not been there. Almost everything my son has needed I have had to pay for as the NHS cannot provide it. I never seem to get ill so no problems opting out if that were a choice.

Lots of countries don't have an NHS at all. There is no higher moral plane for countries with one - it is just one way to manage things.

As for confiscation of wealth I don't have much as I pay huge amounts of tax and I accept for that I get NHS care for others and the army and police etc so I am not against some form a welfare state but would prefer a much smaller one with much less state provision.

But Xenia, you are a powerful career woman. You don't need the welfare state like some do.

I've had to pay for some medical and health stuff that isn't available on the NHS Xenia. So have lots of people.

Very, very little of this if any available via private healthcare insurance either.

It's all been staffed by professionals who trained within the NHS and were often funded to do so.

I think there is a moral argument for universal healthcare free at the point of delivery regardless of financial status, although I appreciate that not everyone has the intelligence to see the value of this to everyone.

A lot of countries don't have that. Thankfully we are still free to express different views in the UK even if we cannot leave home except for a limited number of reasons.

I am not against having some kind of NHS but I would like more choice about whether you opt in and tax levels.

We don't really hyave universal healthcare free at point of delivery. Some parts of the UK don't pay prescription charges and England does. Some English people are exempt from them others not. you pay for the dentist - or most people do - the NHS dentist. My NHS doctor is not currently providing any services other than CV19 and emergency life threatening work so where is my tax refund? Of course there is no refund. So currently I do not have a universal service and yet have had no CV19 help as the self employed over £50k before tax don't get any whereas em0ployees even ion £1m a year can get £2k a month if furloughed. The state seems to hate people who pay a lot of tax particularly if they are self employed.

@Xenia

It is a perfectly reasonable question to ask. We know someone whose daughter is a nurse and they closed the whole cancer ward for a week. They are making sure they are empty in case particular areas become busy with CV19 patients (and some hospitals are indeed very busy with CV19 patients).

It would be very wrong if we started stopping anyone writing about empty hospitals. Freedom of speech is very important.

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.

You do know that we don't have private A&E? Or really private intensive care? In fact as a doctor I'd be a little worried if my family member had an op in a private hospital.

Some are attached to NHS hospitals but plenty aren't. If in the unlikely event that something goes wrong you need a doctor they will be an SHO at night (likely quite junior) and if you're very poorly they will call an ambulance for transfer to an NHS hospital if you need crit care.

Imagine if we were like the US, it's thousands for am ambulance. They pump billions into their healthcare and have very poor outcomes objectively. I agree the NHS needs transforming, I see the issues every day but privatisation in my opinion isn't the way forward.

People who think the hospitals are empty can F* off. We are so short staffed, it's awful. ICUs are full. Non covid wards struggling for staff everyday, patients popping up as positive everywhere.

The only people who know what the wards are like are staff/patients/relatives of dying patients or dementia patients (who we allow to visit)

@Xenia

"I am not against having some kind of NHS but I would like more choice about whether you opt in and tax levels."

Would you opt out of critical care? Or an air ambulance.

Critical care can cost hundreds of thousands if you are there for as long as many covid patients.

Yes you have to pay prescription charges, but if you were really really sick believe me you'd be looked after.

Xenia - NHS GP’s don’t provide Covid and life threatening medical services. They never have. That is provided by hospitals. GP’s have continued to work providing general medical services on a daily basis and will be at the frontline of the vaccinations.

@Xenia

It is a perfectly reasonable question to ask. We know someone whose daughter is a nurse and they closed the whole cancer ward for a week. They are making sure they are empty in case particular areas become busy with CV19 patients (and some hospitals are indeed very busy with CV19 patients).

It would be very wrong if we started stopping anyone writing about empty hospitals. Freedom of speech is very important.

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.

Brilliant!!

Good luck with your insurer when you get a serious, chronic condition that costs a fortune to treat.

@Northernsoullover

Well, because there is a pandemic on the broken nail brigade are staying away. Then you have red and green zones for covid and non covid patients. So next time you go to a & e tell them you have covid symptoms and tell us what the red zone is like. My local a & e is empty in the green zone too. Probably too empty. People are terrified to go. Our covid wards are reassuringly full though

It’s exactly this. I was in the red zone of A&E at a large teaching hospital on the 30th and I can assure you it was very busy. There were three ambulances waiting outside not long after I arrived. Red zone was around the back via the ambulance bay, invisible to normal A&E via the main patient entrance.

Debbie, is that you?

Can we stop these now, please? I hate the crass disinformation in such threads.

@xenia My DS is a semi pro athlete and a higher rate tax payer before cancer struck. as are my DD and DSIL whose 5 year old son who also “never seemed to have anything wrong.” I am over 60, also a tax payer and have never had anything worse than the odd cold. High horses indeed!

"My NHS doctor is not currently providing any services other than CV19 and emergency life threatening work so where is my tax refund? Of course there is no refund."

Don't be silly Xenia. Honestly, if you received the same text that another poster copied and pasted it didn't say this and you know it.

I'm one of those people who 'never get ill'. I'm in my 50s and not stupid enough to think that I'm going to live for ever, nor stupid enough to be grateful for the care and treatment that my children have received from the NHS.

MedStudent12 those facts have been pointed out to Xenia many, many times over the years, but she never acknowledges them.

Funny that.

Because hospitals have been split in two!

A&E’s into Two

Red and Green

Covid and Non Covid

Not hard to work out surely?

@nicky7654

Because thousands of other treatments have been cancelled. Cancer treatment, heart scans etc cancelled!!!

This.

I also had a bad fall in March when our local hospital was supposed to be swamped. I was taken to A&E which was empty. My DH was told to push me to X-ray and we got lost and there wasn’t a soul to be found to ask for directions! Empty corridors and rooms. Whole waiting rooms empty. It was really unnerving a bit post apocalyptic. We eventually found it. The X-ray tech was waiting for me. Went straight in as no one there. Really weird. The X-ray tec said they were having a ‘quiet day’

I witnessed that with my own eyes yet in our local newspaper that day it was telling people to not go to hospital unless it was vital as they were swamped.

Why do you think that you or your friend not seeing many people at all in the hospitaaal equals to it being open?
The only reason why you are not seeing the usual level is SD.
Patients are on their own. No visitors allowed. So corridors are quite empty.
SD in waiting rooms means you will not see them crowded.
And the good thing is that A&E is checking on patients immediately.
But from that to be empty, there is a massive difference.

Of you have COVID you don’t go to A&E for a start

To it being empty! Not open!
Sorry

I’ve spent most of this year in hospitals for 2x operations and for child that was very unwell.

All seemed quiet where I was but thankfully I wasn’t in ITU which is where I would have found COVID patients

Onedropbeat

You dont take yourself to A&E no, but if tou are very ill, through 111 or 999 you will go to A&E but Red / covid A&E

I was on an emergency gynae ward recently and the only patient in a 4 bedded bay. It was a small, 12 bed ward. I have no idea how busy the rest of the hospital was obviously, just my little ward.

@Xenia

It is a perfectly reasonable question to ask. We know someone whose daughter is a nurse and they closed the whole cancer ward for a week. They are making sure they are empty in case particular areas become busy with CV19 patients (and some hospitals are indeed very busy with CV19 patients).

It would be very wrong if we started stopping anyone writing about empty hospitals. Freedom of speech is very important.

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.

What are your Gp's doing then? If you have Covid symptoms the Gp wont deal with you here. You have to contact a separate number.

@SomethingsGottaChange

Onedropbeat

You dont take yourself to A&E no, but if tou are very ill, through 111 or 999 you will go to A&E but Red / covid A&E

No they don’t take you to normal A&E that a normal patient would see