The accident and emergency department of a Greater Manchester hospital has been likened to a ‘scene from a disaster film’ by a councillor.
Liberal Democrat Councillor Dave Murphy was describing the state of the emergency department at the Royal Oldham Hospital when he made the comparison. North West Ambulance Service paramedics report that patients in Greater Manchester are regularly being held in ambulances for hours as they wait for a bed inside hospitals.
Speaking at a recent full council meeting, Coun Murphy said: “Ambulances queued outside, beds filling the corridors of A&E, the staff running around and parking carnage – likened to a scene from a disaster film, this is Oldham Royal Hospital A&E on a daily basis.
“I find it mind blowing that there are beds and privacy curtains in corridors and staff waiting to walk past while nurses and patients treat patients in privacy, having become the norm. This is not a criticism of the staff who work extremely hard in very challenging circumstances. It’s easy to see why we love our NHS.
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“This is a criticism of the situation they find themselves in. Why are outside contractors being used to prop up the ambulance service by providing staff and ambulances?
“Repairing the failure of primary care services must be the answer to relieving the pressures of A&E and the ambulance. service.”
He asked whether the council leader and relevant cabinet member would commit to making services at the Royal Oldham Hospital ‘one of their top priorities’ so ‘things like curtains can remain on walls, not on the A&E corridors’.
Coun Barbara Brownridge, the cabinet member for health and social care, said that she ‘entirely’ shared Coun Murphy’s concerns, adding people had seen many similar scenes on news reports from hospitals around the country.
She told members: “This is an issue of lack of resource, both personnel and finance as a result of a long period of under-investment or a non-investment by this Tory government.
“I’m delighted to say the officers have been successful in securing an extra £1.9m investment to cope with winter pressures and a lot of that will go into social care, because I think we know one of the problems is, it’s not just a hospital issue, this is an issue of social which is grossly and terribly underfunded.
“As an example, the government has promised 6,000 new GPs, we haven’t seen a single one rock up in Oldham yet.
“We as an administration are committed to doing what we can to make the system work better. The new Integrated Care System is an opportunity for us to work even more closely with the NHS and our health colleagues and trust me we are going to make the most of that opportunity.
“Yes I can guarantee as an administration we are working and doing the best we can but we are up against it.”
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