My elderly frail mother, with a Clinical Frailty Score of 7, was admitted to hospital late this evening for suspected sepsis. The staff @beaumont_care who looked after her until the ambulance arrived were fantastic, as always. Mum's NEWS score - very high, 17 - was...
...established by the staff nurse and communicated to 999 and the paramedic crew who arrived. The ambulance took significantly longer than it should, but that was absolutely not @NIAS999 's fault, who are dealing with extraordinarily high pressure right now.
My mother was taken to @NHSCTrust Antrim Area Hospital ED, where unfortunately she had to wait in the ambulance for nearly an hour before being handed over to ED staff. This delay, of course, meant the paramedic crew were unable to respond to other calls during that period.
Remember, especially if you're a #medtwitter healthcare professional, how important every hour is in initiating treatment for potential sepsis. Everyone I have talked to tonight on the phone at @NHSCTrust Antrim Area Hospital have been wonderful, professional, and compassionate.
The delay in my mother's treatment - ambulance time to arrive, paramedic wait for handover, my mother's one hour wait in the ED to see a doctor - are obvious signs of an overwhelmed healthcare system. Here's why the healthcare system here is overwhelmed:
Many of these points apply to healthcare systems in other countries too.
The NHS is underfunded by the UK government. It's important to recognise that. As is social care.
The ongoing pandemic is constantly causing healthcare workers to get sick, many multiple times, from Covid-19. In addition, the outrageous stress placed on healthcare workers has led to burnout. Many HCWs are leaving, or considering leaving, the NHS. Understandably so.
This leads to constant, unrelenting staff shortages.
Sequelae of Covid-19 infection are causing more people to have to attend EDs. As are cases of severe Covid-19. This is in addition to all the other reasons people need hospital care.
Because hospitals are overwhelmed, nosocomial infections are difficult to avoid. Patients are getting Covid-19 in hospital. This increases morbidity and mortality, which increases LOS. My mother, with ?sepsis, could easily catch Covid-19 tonight.
In short, there are more sick patients, directly or indirectly because of Covid, there are fewer staff to treat them, directly or indirectly because of Covid, in a health and social care system that is badly underfunded by the government - which also delays timely discharge.
This is not because #TeamGP are not available or sending patients to the ED unnecessarily; quite the opposite. GPs are working harder than ever!
This is because - and it's infuriating this needs to be said - we are in a pandemic. My mother, who could die in the next few days, suffered a delay in treatment because our healthcare system is overwhelmed. It is so because are in a pandemic.
This is the sharp end. It always has been for me. Act like it's over if you want, but if you need emergency or urgent care, you will discover that it is not. These scenes are being repeated all over the world. /end
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
