We filmed at Queen’s Hospital in Romford, where they were full in the emergency department, with three corridors being used and a fourth about to open.
Nobody expected today’s NHS England data to show anything but the continuing pressure on the health service. Despite flu cases plateauing, they have merely been replaced by a surge in norovirus – the highest level since January 2020. Throw in Covid and respiratory viruses and it is unrelenting.
We filmed at Queen’s Hospital in Romford, where they were full in the emergency department, with three corridors being used and a fourth about to open.
They desperately need more space. The department was built for 325 people. One day in December there were 750. Today it was full.
Matthew Trainer, Barking and Havering NHS Trust’s chief executive, said it was like trying to pour a pint into a half pint glass. He said the corridor care was “hard to stomach”.
On Monday, the Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced the hospital building programme was going to be delayed, with some hospitals not even starting to build until 2039.
This trust wasn’t part of that programme.
So now they have launched a campaign to raise £35m to extend the emergency department.
Mr Trainer said it is aimed at NHS England in the hope the money can be found somewhere. But he also wanted local MPs – and that includes Mr Streeting – to know what was happening.
More than that, the trust wants patients and relatives to know that they are trying to do something.
The Royal College of Nursing released a report last week on corridor care that talked about patients dying, lack of equipment and unsafe practices.
At Queen’s, they have already put in sockets down the corridors so equipment can be plugged in.
This pressure isn’t what anyone wants – not the patients nor the staff.
Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting said:
“Despite the work we did to end the strikes and roll out the new RSV vaccine, hospitals up and down the country are still facing significant pressure and patients continue to face unacceptable levels of care this winter.
“It’s welcome that flu rates are starting to decline and ambulance handovers are improving – but we’re not out of the woods yet.”
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