United Kingdom: hospitals under pressure as country passes 100,000 Covid death mark
Audio 02:43
A nurse writes a message on an 'inspiration wall' created for staff in the Covid-19 ward at Milton Keynes University Hospital on January 20, 2021, as the pandemic hits records for new infections every day.
REUTERS - TOBY MELVILLE
By: Muriel Delcroix Follow
7 min
In the United Kingdom, the death toll from Covid has now passed the symbolic milestone of 100,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
The ONS (National Statistics Office) figures include deaths recorded up to January 15 and are based on death certificates.
This toll comes after an explosion in Covid cases last month, making Britain one of the most affected countries in the world with its death rate from the pandemic.
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In England, hospitals are now reaching the limit of their intensive care capacity and the pressure on nursing staff is enormous.
The voice altered by fatigue and emotion and enjoying a rare moment of respite for Ruth May.
A few days ago, this nurse wanted to share this call for caution on social networks.
"
It's really hard ... Please play by the rules ... The caregivers work so hard ...
"
Like so many caregivers, the young woman is plagued by exhaustion and discouragement.
Across the country, hospitals are overwhelmed by the influx of patients as the country continues to bear the brunt of the effects of the much more contagious Covid variant.
Dr Robert Hirst has been working for 7 years in the emergency room at Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton, not far from Bristol;
the doctor admits to never having known a worse scenario.
“
The situation is quite dire in my hospital;
it is not uncommon for 90% of our beds to be occupied and especially we have this new viral variant which is more contagious.
So yes, it's hard, especially since for many of these patients there is not much we can do except palliative care and the doctors find it hard to accept this idea…
”
Even if a peak of admissions seems to have now been reached, the rate of hospitalizations remains very high because patients who need heavy care stay longer.
What is more, unlike the first wave in March, hospital services this winter continued to welcome patients for other treatments and operations.
But there is a more fundamental problem of chronic underinvestment, as nurse Mark Farmer, union representative for the profession, explains.
“
This extreme pressure on the profession is mainly due to a huge shortage of nursing staff in London and across the country.
In London alone, 9,000 nurses are missing.
Even before the pandemic, hospitals weren't working with full teams and the consequence of all this is that nurses admit that they can't take it anymore, that they can't continue.
"
The only light at the end of the tunnel is a vaccination campaign that is working well for the moment.
The government wants to vaccinate 15 million people by mid-February and with nearly 7 million doses administered, the bet seems on the way to being won.
However, doctors are worried about the crying lack of a clear strategy by Boris Johnson's government.
Dr Claudia Paoloni is an anesthetist at Bristol University Hospital and President of the Union of Hospital Consultants and Specialists.
“
The government's approach is chaotic.
He should take a longer term approach.
It should also bring together economists and doctors around a table to resolve the situation together and not systematically oppose economy and health because this virus will remain with us for a long time and perhaps even forever…
”
And while the United Kingdom has just passed the milestone of 100,000 deaths and holds the sad record of the most bereaved country in Europe, caregivers are now increasing the calls to protect and strengthen their teams which, despite all their determination, do not don't think they can hold out at this rate any longer.
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