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I’ve got into trouble for swearing on Twitter before - but WTAF! At the moment the only reasons ICUs appear not to be full is because we have created ‘surge capacity’
‘Surge capacity’ means wards that are not usually ICUs, equipped with ventilators that are better than nothing but far from ideal. Either staffed by specialist ICU teams working overtime, or staff from other areas drafted in.
If we’ve got nothing else, if our backs are against the wall and it’s that all we’ve got then that’s better than no critical care at all. But let’s remember what happened to mortality when we were under major pressure (hint- it was high)
Of course the Daily Mail haven’t bothered their a**s to actually come and speak to any ICU teams looking after Covid patients, to find out what the situation is like on the ground
Yes, in some places there is some ‘surge capacity’, but that’s not a reason to think things are just fine. They are not, the NHS is transferring critically ill patients because of lack of beds. This is not normal, and it’s not good, but it’s the best we can do
Cases are rising rapidly, hospitals are seeing large jumps in admissions- it has already led to other work being cancelled because of lack of capacity. These cancellations affect patients without COVID- the system is teetering on the edge.
We have no motive to overplay this, we don’t get paid more or get anything extra if we say we’re working under increasing pressure. The rising note of alarm from our professional bodies is genuine
You can ask yourself who you believe, a paper that has been serially dishonest, whose tax-avoiding owners love to beat up on the public services they decline to pay for, or those who work on the frontline. Choose wisely, this may literally be a life changing decision.
