Staffing pressures see ops cancelled
COVID pressures are being blamed for more cancellations of elective operations being made at the Princess Elizabeth Hospital this week.
Health & Social Care has announced that day surgery and elective inpatient surgery is being cut back as the critical care unit at the hospital comes under ‘significant staffing pressure’.
The CCU is running two separate operational units at present – one dedicated to Covid patients, which, as of yesterday lunchtime, had two patients, while the seven beds in its non-Covid unit were full.
The committee said it was in liaison with medical and nursing leads at the hospital and the Medical Specialist Group. It said that while services were very stretched, it had not reached the position seen among several UK NHS Trusts which have declared critical incidents.
‘As Dr [Peter] Rabey [medical director] has stated previously, postponing elective surgery is not a decision that we take lightly,’ said Dermot Mullin, director of operations.
‘We know that it is extremely frustrating for patients who have been waiting for a procedure and have made arrangements with employers, family, and friends. However, it is essential that we maintain a safe level of care for all patients in the PEH which means often these tough decisions must be made.
‘The impact of the current wave of Omicron has meant that bank/agency staff are already being used to cover isolation requirements for those staff who have Covid or who are a close contact. This means we have fewer resources available to cover an already stretched healthcare system.’
Other operational areas are running with less disruption, but HSC is assessing the situation.
‘I am grateful to both HSC and MSG staff for their continued hard work balancing the impact of Covid with a busy hospital that is also stretched due to seasonal winter pressures,’ said HSC president Deputy Al Brouard.
During the second lockdown, all elective surgery was postponed and end-of-life visits were permitted on a case-by-case basis.
The hospital has also struggled with bed shortages caused by a lack of capacity in care homes and patients having to remain in hospital as they have nowhere else to be cared for.
