Hospital staff - how is the covid situation where you work?

[Ocdsucks8613]

Just wondering how things are in the hospital where you work? Are you seeing a surge in covid patients. How are your staff levels?

Covid patients in ITU, very few. General medical/surgical, still manageable. Maternity - sometimes becoming problematic due to having limited single rooms to isolate them in. Staffing - definitely becoming a big issue. That's probably the biggest problem at the moment, and we don't even have to isolate as contacts any more so this is just from staff with symptoms/testing positive (and I am part of that problem myself currently 😢)

@Donatella

Covid patients in ITU, very few. General medical/surgical, still manageable. Maternity - sometimes becoming problematic due to having limited single rooms to isolate them in. Staffing - definitely becoming a big issue. That's probably the biggest problem at the moment, and we don't even have to isolate as contacts any more so this is just from staff with symptoms/testing positive (and I am part of that problem myself currently 😢)

Oh no sorry to hear you've got covid :-(

A few Covid patients currently admitted (SW). Part of my role is to scrutinise every inpatient death in the Trust and we are having maybe one or two Covid deaths every 2-3 weeks? They are inevitably elderly patients with other contributory co-morbidities. Currently playing the waiting game to see if January ends up like last January, which was just horrendous.

Not necessarily covid, just a cough at the moment, waiting on a PCR result. But from a staffing point of view it's the same thing (although I'll be back at work quicker if negative!)

Number of patients admitted with covid is relatively low just now, which is just as well as staff absence has shot up. Expecting numbers to get much higher in Jan/Feb

Staffing is the main issue making everything awful - so many people off sick. As for the patients: some with covid but lots of patients with flu or other viral chest infections. Very different to last year when it was all covid.

Terrible, staffing, bed flow issues, 30+ ambulances waiting outside ED. I looked after A patient who was in an ambulance outside Ed for over 30 hours.

Fine, least covid patients in for a while. General winter staff sickness and bed pressures though, same as every year, although the media like to portray it as covid related to continue the scaremongering.

Maternity - sometimes becoming problematic due to having limited single rooms to isolate them in.

Can I ask what might be a spectacularly stupid question? If you have several mothers who have all tested positive, can they go in a room together, or does every positive mum need a single room?
I’m pregnant at the moment so interested in the various possible set ups in the hospital around covid and if I were to test positive (I’m not due until the very end of May though so I know it could be different by then).

@SickAndTiredAgain

Maternity - sometimes becoming problematic due to having limited single rooms to isolate them in.

Can I ask what might be a spectacularly stupid question? If you have several mothers who have all tested positive, can they go in a room together, or does every positive mum need a single room?
I’m pregnant at the moment so interested in the various possible set ups in the hospital around covid and if I were to test positive (I’m not due until the very end of May though so I know it could be different by then).

It depends on why they are in. For assessment/triage then yes, we can, but for antenatal/postnatal care we can't as there are no doors on the 6-bedded bays. Also they can't share a bathroom with the rest of the ward which can be tricky.

@Chillyjellytotty

Terrible, staffing, bed flow issues, 30+ ambulances waiting outside ED. I looked after A patient who was in an ambulance outside Ed for over 30 hours.

Where abouts in the country are you?

I’m work in maternity. We are seeing higher numbers of pregnant women with covid (some asymptomatic, some symptomatic but not too poorly and some requiring ITU care). The increase isn’t overwhelming though.

What is extremely worrying however is the number of staff off sick or isolating. Huge delays in care, delayed and rescheduled Caesarean sections, inductions being cancelled, women waiting days on end to be admitted to hospital and, once there, waiting several more days for a midwife to break their waters.

THIS is what is meant by the NHS being overwhelmed. It’s not just about covid or how serious the variants are. It’s not necessarily about deaths.

It’s about there simply not being enough staff to look after patients. Women in labour need one midwife each and this means that other women face significant delays and cancellations.

It’s grim. The working conditions are poor and the abuse from woman and their partners is horrible

Scbu nurse here. We have seen a lot more babies of covid positive mums recently. The rest of the hospital is buckling under capacity pressures but the worst issue we have across the whole health board is staffing. Last week my ward had 43% unavailability (including annual leave). It's exhausting. Not sure how much longer we can carry on like this if I'm honest.

Yes agree, staff isolation and awaiting negative pcrs (in our trust in wales we cannot come back to work if household member positive until we have a negative pcr) is a major issue.
Patient numbers lower than previously in the autumn and the majority of seriously ill unvaccinated. Just got home from work and the first patient in a few days who needs respiratory support is unvaccinated.

This week was the best for admissions that it has been in about 2 months. Usually when I arrive for night shift there are 12 ambulances waiting to get people in and a full waiting room and our admissions bay is full with about 7 extra people sat around in chairs awaiting beds. Last few shifts we had an empty bed or 2 awaiting an admission. Only 1 pt that they thought was positive last night.

Staffing in a major major issue but has been for so long I don't necessarily think its due to the current wave. There just aren't enough staff and the skill mix is atrocious. We took on about double the amount of newly qualified nurses that we usually do so you quite often have far too many newly qualifieds on one shift together plus we rely on about 6 agency staff a shift. Loads of nurses leaving for agency and I don't blame them...who else would stay in a job that pays you a quarter of what you could get for less stress and flexible hours? If you arrive for a shift and you are given an unsafe ratio (v common to see 1 nurse to 16 unwell very dependant patients) if you are NHS you are told 'sorry there are no other staff' if you are agency they will call on your behalf and have your back and say the assignment is unsafe and if they will make the bed manager get you another nurse or pull you out of there.

Regional NSW non existent!! Understaffed from nurses being sick from covid vaccines and burn out.

@Fancymarmite

I’m work in maternity. We are seeing higher numbers of pregnant women with covid (some asymptomatic, some symptomatic but not too poorly and some requiring ITU care). The increase isn’t overwhelming though.

What is extremely worrying however is the number of staff off sick or isolating. Huge delays in care, delayed and rescheduled Caesarean sections, inductions being cancelled, women waiting days on end to be admitted to hospital and, once there, waiting several more days for a midwife to break their waters.

THIS is what is meant by the NHS being overwhelmed. It’s not just about covid or how serious the variants are. It’s not necessarily about deaths.

It’s about there simply not being enough staff to look after patients. Women in labour need one midwife each and this means that other women face significant delays and cancellations.

It’s grim. The working conditions are poor and the abuse from woman and their partners is horrible

I've been on the other side of this. And the service was shocking and dangerous. Not only that tho, we were not told that we would be left for 30 plus hours before breaking my waters so left in a room, ignored and horrible staff when we dared to ask why. Not saying it's the case with you, but the awful working conditions, as much as they're not your fault, are also not ours and communication would reduce the awful feelings of anxiety and stress we feel when abandoned on a ward and ignored with no explanation, in pain and no anaesthetist in sight. I'm still pretty traumatised to be honest

Awful.

Staff sickness high. Elective operating except cancer work cancelled.

Covid intubation team making a reappearance. Number of Covid ICU admissions rising slowly but steadily.

Seriously worried what next the end of the week will be like as the hospital should be entering 4 day bank holiday mode.

I’m so angry that once again NHS staff will bear the brunt of the fucking governemebts desire to please the uber right wing.

Our mental health is in tatters.
We’ve stepped up and stepped up. This time I fear when asked people are going to turn round and say no. Patients will die.

My mum works in a hospital, biggest issue is staffing, 5 members of her team are off with Covid and now she has symptoms so is home waiting for PCR results.

@Prinnny

Fine, least covid patients in for a while. General winter staff sickness and bed pressures though, same as every year, although the media like to portray it as covid related to continue the scaremongering.

Same in my area. Staffing levels due to isolating aren't helping though.

Same as above really

Major incident being called every other day and on highest alert level for months. Covid cases steadily increasing. Visitors bringing it in to green wards and causing an outbreak shutting the ward down.

Staffing major issues - loads off with covid and we also can't come in if someone we lives with has it either. Very dangerous levels.

All elective work stopped. All lower priority clinics stopped. Redeployment started yesterday of office based staff on to the wards (which won't be easy for anyone, patients included)

No social care so lots of bed blocking. Lots of patients being sent to their home early when not really well enough. Ambulances backed up outside A&E and A&E having to work like a ward as the patients are there for days with no beds.

I work in maternity. Staffing is dire. At both local hospitals. There have been some shifts with no Band 7 coordinator on the labour ward. One of the band. 6 has had to step up which is unheard of.

Positive women on the postnatal ward in a bay with other positive women and babies, but they have to leave their bay to go to the loo.

There are covid patients on icu. On the general side last week the hospital said in a staff briefing that staffing levels were so bad that patient safety was compromised. 🤷‍♀️ People do need to take this seriously. I’m worried it’s going to get worse.

This is all quite terrifying 😳 Biggest fear is not being able to access adequate medical care at the moment.

I'm curious to know if the staff of sick are vaccinated or not. Not to judge anyone but as a measure of how effective the vaccines are.

@StopGo

I'm curious to know if the staff of sick are vaccinated or not. Not to judge anyone but as a measure of how effective the vaccines are.

In my team they are all vaccinated, we all have to be by April latest but the isolation rules mean we can't come into work if we are awaiting a pcr so there are lots of staff who should probably be on wards who are at home doing admin.