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Hospital ward moves twice as Hull responds to pressures of the pandemic

Hospital ward moves twice as Hull responds to pressures of the pandemic

Hospital ward moves twice as Hull responds to pressures of the pandemic

A team at Hull Royal Infirmary has been praised for their efforts after their entire ward was forced to move twice during the pandemic.

Staff on Ward 500 at Hull Royal Infirmary were initially tasked with caring for people with respiratory problems.

But the increasing number of patients who tested positive with coronavirus saw the ward moved on two separate occasions, so that staff could care for a wider range of ailments.

Sarah Bennett, Junior Sister on the ward, said members of the team came in on their days off to help with the move to make sure there was no adverse impact on patient care.

“Ward 500 moved an entire ward to Ward 60, changing from respiratory patients to general medical patients,” she said.

“Staff came in to help move equipment and patients on their days off to assist with this move.

“Once we’d moved, staff then came in on their days off again to help with unpacking the ward to make sure we were organised.

“During the lockdowns, we have done this twice and staff went above and beyond helping with these moves.

“I am proud of our Team 500. Their hard work is truly appreciated!”

Some team members were also split up and redeployed to Covid wards and Intensive Care Units because of their expertise in dealing with patients experiencing breathing difficulties, a common symptom of the virus.

When the team were able to return to Ward 500, they had to contend with construction work to create a new six-bed respiratory high dependency unit for seriously ill patients who did not have the virus but required a high level of care.

Sarah added:

“We have all developed our skills and knowledge regarding caring for patients in an HDU setting.

“We have staff from other areas re-deployed to us and also our own staff deployed elsewhere.

“I would like to thank all of my team on ward 500, including staff who are currently redeployed to us. We couldn’t give the safe, excellent care our patients receive if it wasn’t for every single one of them.”

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