Waiting up to ‘60 hours’ for a hospital bed. Critical incidents across the country. Staff say it’s like the ‘height of the pandemic’.
This week, the NHS has been hit by the ‘tidal wave’ of pressure that was feared by health services chiefs as winter began. Some patients have reported waits of ‘50 plus hours’ and ‘60 hours’ at Wigan’s Royal Albert Edward Infirmary.
Staff at other hospitals in Greater Manchester have shared that there are waits of ‘more than 24 hours for a bed’ as A&Es battle ‘lots of Covid, flu and RSV patients’. But the wait for beds is so high because there are so many people sick enough to need care in hospital, says one top Greater Manchester GP.
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Bolton GP Dr Helen Wall has said that while the wait for beds is extreme, it’s because there is such a high number of people severely ill enough to warrant being in hospital. Even at a time when those most desperately sick will be prioritised for increasingly scarce beds.
“A&Es are busy, but people aren’t being admitted for no reason. These people will be needing oxygen tanks and drips, they’re really ill and need to be there,” said Dr Wall.
“The red flags I look for are if you’re not able to breathe properly, or being so dehydrated that you’re not able to pass urine, becoming very confused, collapsing. These are the reasons people are going into hospitals.”
‘Very busy and people were pinching seats’
On Friday, patients of the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary told of how they faced huge waits in A&E. Dean Jennings, 39, was rushed there by ambulance on Saturday night at around 7pm after collapsing at home.
Mr Jennings says he was in the A&E until Tuesday, when he was finally taken from A&E to a different ward, and eventually had an operation. He says he was suffering from pneumonia and remains in hospital.
“I’ve been in for days,” said Mr Jennings. “It wasn’t until Tuesday when I got put in a proper ward. They were doing my blood transfusions on the corridor.
“It’s been so busy, hectic, 60 hours wait and all that. That was on Saturday when it was the busiest. It was disgusting.”
Another A&E patient in Wigan told of how he had been warned by a doctor of ‘50 plus hour waits’ for those needing to be admitted. The man, who wished not to be named, went to A&E on Tuesday at 4pm and left around 1am Wednesday morning.
His ailment did not require him to be admitted to hospital, but the man was back at hospital today (January 10) for a scan. “It was crammed in there. Very busy and people were pinching seats,” Mr Jennings told the M.E.N.
“It took me about three hours to be seen by doctor after I’d arrived but I had to stay around for more tests and ended up leaving about 1am. There were other people seen quicker than me and my doctor said that the 50 plus hour waits are for people who need a hospital bed, not for people like me.”
About 20 NHS trusts in England have declared critical incidents this week, because of long delays in A&E. It comes as flu cases have continued to spiral, with the average number of patients with the virus in hospital in England topping 5,400 a day last week – around 1,000 higher than a week before.
Severe flu cases have continued to skyrocket, leaving an extreme shortage of beds in hospitals. The scarcity of beds has led to numerous hospitals around the country declaring critical incidents. The number of patients with flu is more than three times higher than this time last year and on par with early 2023 – one of the worst flu seasons for many years.
About 20 NHS trusts in England have declared critical incidents this week -Credit:Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News
‘We’re sorry’
“Winter and January in particular, is always a time of high demand throughout our hospital services, due to increases in flu, respiratory infections, and other winter-related illnesses,” said Sarah Brennan, Chief Operating Officer for Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh (WWL) Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary.
“As these pressures are expected, WWL plans and prepares as much as possible, and our staff work tirelessly to provide safe, effective care for those who need it most during these challenging times.
“However, as a result increasing pressures on our urgent and emergency care services, earlier in the week, we have seen some long waits in our emergency department. We are really sorry that some patients have experienced long waits to be admitted to our hospital.
“Please be assured we are working hard to ensure that people are seen as quickly as possible and appropriately and patients are always seen in order of clinical priority. We would like to reassure the public that patient safety is always our top priority.
“The public can help us by remembering that emergency departments should only be used for life, limb and sight threatening illnesses and injuries. If you need help in these situations, you must come forward. For conditions which are less urgent, please use NHS 111 online or by phone, or consider visiting a local pharmacy, walk-in centre or GP practice for support.
“To further help us, we urge families and friends of patients who are ready to be discharged from our hospitals to support their loved ones to recover at home. Our teams will always make sure this transition is safe, and recovery at home is always the best option.
“As always, I would like to thank our staff, patients and our local community for their support and understanding.”
“The pressures across emergency services are extremely challenging,” NHS Greater Manchester has said -Credit:Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News
‘Whole range of knock-ons’
The Manchester Evening News understands that there have been ‘no formal critical incidents’ at any of Greater Manchester’s hospitals. But senior NHS sources the M.E.N. has spoken to say the crippling demand is coming from ‘lots of Covid, flu and RSV patients’.
Making matters worse, the cold snap has brought with it ‘lots of falls and broken bones due to the weather’ in A&Es, said a doctor at one of Greater Manchester’s major A&Es.
“In the first week of December, we saw a 360% rise in hospital admissions for flu compared to last year. That’s a huge increase,” explained Dr Wall this week.
“We always see a spike in winter, so we expect that. But we’ve had much higher rates, and much earlier on in the year. If that had continued alongside RSV, Covid, and norovirus, we’d be in a really difficult place.
“We are in a pressured place, but Covid and RSV have tailed off. Flu is still causing us problems though.
“There’s been a spike in hospitalisations by 5,000 people a week, which causes so many knock-on effects. If beds are being taken up by flu, operations get cancelled. And we can’t get people out of hospital, it backs up into primary care. It creates a huge flow issue.
“At this time of year, there are a lot of respiratory problems that come up in primary care, and there’s pressure across the whole system. 111, ambulance callouts – there’s a whole range of knock-ons.”
‘Like the days at the height of the pandemic’ but ‘no way of knowing’ when it will subside
NHS England medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis said some staff have been reporting that the strain being placed on them felt “like some of the days we had during the height of the pandemic”.
In the days before Christmas, staff told of standing room only in the region’s A&Es, waits of more than 36 hours for a bed, frail patients breaking limbs, and elderly people in their 80s and 90s spending hours lying on trolleys in corridors.
There were stories of ‘extreme overcrowding’, where emergency departments have been filled with as many as 180 people. Now, data has shown that hundreds of patients in Greater Manchester were stuck in ambulances for more than an hour, waiting to be admitted to scarce hospital beds over Christmas in Greater Manchester.
There are also hundreds of patients who are medically well enough to go home, but cannot be discharged because there is no care available for when they leave the ward. It’s an ‘exit block’, say hospital staff, as people who are medically fit enough for discharge are left languishing in desperately-needed beds by an underfunded social care system that has no more capacity.
Colin Scales, deputy chief executive at NHS Greater Manchester, said: “We acknowledge that some patients are unfortunately waiting longer than we would like for hospital care, and we deeply regret the anxiety and distress this may cause for patients and their families. Patient safety and wellbeing remain our highest priorities. We are working closely with hospital trusts and other healthcare leaders to address these challenges by improving patient flow and ensuring that care is prioritised based on clinical need.
“The pressures across emergency services are extremely challenging, and despite the immense demand, our dedicated staff continue to work tirelessly to support patients. Ambulance crews, GPs, and the NHS 111 service are facing significant demand, and we appreciate the public’s understanding and patience.”
“Greater Manchester’s hospitals are coping ok, we’re holding our own. But we don’t know how far the flu will go and at what point it will peak,” warned Dr Wall.
“If we peak this week, we’re coping. If it’s going to carry on getting higher and higher, that’s the worry people are facing. And there’s no way of knowing.”