By Local hospitals speak out over Covid staffing pressures
Local hospitals in both Hull and Lincolnshire have spoken out about staffing pressures, stating that some wards are almost at breaking point.
Speaking to BBC Radio Humberside, Lee Bond from the Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said: “There’s very urgent surgical work that’s still needing to take place and we’re having to cancel some of that as a result of these operational pressures.”
The trust is having to cancel some of its surgical operations due to staff shortages, either from covid of other illnesses.
On the other side of the Humber Lincolnshire’s hospitals are suffering from the same effect, having recently declared a ‘major incident‘.
A document shared across Lincolnshire hospitals states that: “An internal critical incident was declared across the Trust late yesterday and continues into today, due to extreme and unprecedented workforce shortages meaning that we are unable to maintain safe staffing levels.
“This is resulting in compromised care across our hospitals, and an inability to maintain a number of key pathways, including those around stroke and cardiac care.”
Absences are said to have increased by 31% in the space of just one week, with officials fearing that the service could become quickly overwhelmed.
In a statement issued on Sunday night, the trust’s medical director Dr Colin Farquharson said: “As a result of significant staffing pressures due to absence related to Covid-19, we are having to take additional steps to maintain services.
“Our staff continue to work exceptionally hard and we would like to reassure our patients and the public that in spite of the challenges faced, essential services remain fully open for anyone who needs them, so people should continue to come forward for care.”
Yorkshire Ambulance Service is also feeling the mounting pressure, stating that staff absences is having a significant impact on frontline operations.
They are urging people to only call an ambulance in an emergency.
