NI GP: Stop doctors having to make impossible calls over ventilators or hospital beds in battle against Covid-19

Dr Gareth Patterson, a GP at Lewis Square Practice in east Belfast, hopes the NHS in NI will have the capacity to cope with the expected surge in coming days. But he urged the public to stand with health care professionals by observing the lockdown in a bid to prevent doctors having to make impossible decisions about who might get a ventilator - or even a hospital bed.

On his last shift at the GP-led Covid-19 centre in Belfast, the facility dealt with 34 suspected Covid-19 patients and referred the four most ill to hospital.

Throughout his time assessing patients face-to-face he is wearing the Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) to protect him from the deadly virus, including mask, aprons and gloves.

“Almost a week after my first shift [at the centre] I would say that that demand is increasing,” he told the News Letter. “We anticipate that as time goes on that the service will be a lot busier.”

He also urges the government to maintain clear and honest communication with the public and NHS staff, noting that there was an initial strain due to concerns over whether adequate PPE was being supplied.

The British Medical Association says that if hospitals become overwhelmed, it would be legal and ethical to refuse ventilators to patients who statistically would not benefit from them.

But he also sees it as feasible that in a worst case scenario, medics in GP-led centres might even have to make impossible decisions about which seriously ill patients may even be referred to hospital, if there is a shortage of beds.

“Oh yes absolutely. It may well be but we will cross that bridge when we come to it. I don’t really know how, as a GP, we can prepare for that necessarily. We just have to take it a day at a time and be aware of what resources are available and what we are being advised by our secondary care colleagues in terms of capacity.”

Dr Patterson is urging the general public to keep maintaining lockdown and social distancing, if it is essential to go out.

“I think it is incredibly important that we stay in our homes unless we need to leave for essential purposes. As time goes on there may be a tendency to become a bit lax about those but I think the important thing is to keep those measures in place until we are told otherwise.”

Dr Patterson is also urging the public to observe some basic steps in order to maintain mental health at this time.
“There is growing anxiety and fear within the community but I think we must all remember the importance of staying positive in our own day to day lives,” he said. “That means maintaining a positive mindset and considering what we are doing with our new found time. We must ensure that we keep ourselves healthy and well through things such as physical exercise, reading and meditating. And remaining connected with people around us is really important at this time.”

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