Medic hails ‘resilient’ NHS staff as pandemic pressures increase

JUST as we were on the brink of breaking into a cheerful lope toward Christmas and New Years Eve, for another year the festive feel-good factor has been reined back by anxieties around the pandemic.

In an interview with the We Are Tyrone, Dr Brendan Lavery, a consultant in Altnagelvin’s emergency department, outlined the current difficulties facing staff and patients in Altnagelvin and the South West Acute Hospital in Enniskillen, concerns over Omicron, and what the public can do to protect themselves, their families and the hospitals.

“The major problem at the moment is getting people into our hospitals,” said Dr Lavery.

“There are not enough beds to admit all of the patients in need of inpatient care, meaning we are having to hold them in emergency departments and this is making life very difficult for nurses, doctors, and patients.”

On Monday, there was a total of 44 Covid-positve patients in Enniskillen and Altnagelvin hospitals.

“I know this doesn’t sound that shocking, but that is ten per-cent of all of the beds,” said Dr Lavery.

“This has been a typical Monday morning,” he continued. “There are people waiting to be assessed but cannot because the emergency department cubicles are being used to hold people waiting for an inpatient bed to become available.”

Dr Lavery said this is putting ‘immense’ strain on nurses in emergency departments and making their job ‘torturous’.

“They have to provide care for the 200-plus new patients who go through our emergency departments every day, and on top of that they have to provide ward level care for those waiting on inpatient beds,” he explained.

“I am so thankful for the resilience our nurses are showing because their job at the moment is extremely difficult.”

Dr Lavery then addressed the concern of rising case numbers, “There has been a significant rise in the number of positive tests in the last few weeks and we will see the effects of that in our hospitals within the next ten days” he said.

To be exact, from December 6-12, 891 people tested positive in Derry and Strabane, while 640 did so in Fermanagh and Omagh council areas. From December 13-19, that figure increased to 1,258 in Derry and Strabane, while rising to 847 in Fermanagh and Omagh.

But Dr Lavery’s advice is straightforward. “The evidence is clear: Get your vaccine and you are much less likely to be hospitalised.

“This applies to defence against the Omicron variant too,” he stated. “Our two common vaccines vastly reduce your likelihood of being admitted to hospital.

“It is hospitalisation admissions which worry us, not so much positive test figures.”