‘Ticking time bomb’ as beds run low at NI hospital, warns MLA

That warning has come from Upper Bann MLA Dolores Kelly, who said she was asked to raise the plight of staff after being contacted by those working on the frontlines.

“The wards are full of covid patients of all age groups and there are a number of people in ICU,” the SDLP MLA told the News Letter. “The wards are chock-a-block and there’s hardly any beds left throughout the hospital. Covid is taking up a large proportion of those.”

Describing the situation facing front-line nursing staff, she said: “When the nurses are in the full PPE, including the HP3 mask, they’re not supposed to wear it for more than two hours until you get a breather. I know of one nurse who worked for seven hours straight without a break, and another who worked for nine.

“People are sweating, it’s tight, it’s very distressing.

“The nurses are very, very distressed. There’s inadequate staffing levels.”

She continued: “The senior management team are actually working from home. They’re not on site to see what’s going on. How do they know what it’s like, working from home? People are on the wards, dealing with patients and they’re supposed to be getting help. How the increasing anxiety and stress levels that staff are under, I don’t think it’s enough for them to be supported by people working from home.

“The Health Minister has repeatedly warned about nursing levels. This isn’t anything new to the Department of Health. I remember talking to Edwin Poots about nursing levels because it was the workforce planning - it was always around agency rather than enough places at university.

Workforce planning has been dire for several years. When the nurses went out to strike, it wasn’t just about pay.

Something needs to be urgently done to help our nurses, and staff on the frontline.”
She added: “The doctors are genuinely disturbed that they might soon need to make the call, if not already, about who gets the ICU bed. That was the great ethical debate in the first wave - will it be the 80-year-olds, the 90-year-olds versus the 50-year-olds. That’s where the doctors are at. That’s my understanding.

“People need to get a grip. I don’t think people understand the gravity of the situation. It’s a ticking time bomb with a very short fuse.”

A spokesperson for the Southern Trust said: “There are now rapidly escalating pressures across health trusts in Northern Ireland. In The Southern Trust, our hospitals and facilities are currently experiencing extreme pressures as a direct consequence of the rise in Covid-19 in our community.

“We urgently appeal to the public to help by only attending the Emergency Department if they require emergency care and treatment.”

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