Two corridors in Aintree Hospital are being used as "makeshift wards" as the departments become "overwhelmed".
A source described heartbreaking scenes inside Aintree University Hospital this week as departments became overwhelmed. They described how two corridors in the hospital were closed with privacy screens, and had security guarding them as they were being used as makeshift wards.
The ECHO understands patients, including the elderly and people who are seriously ill, had been lying in the corridors for up to 30 hours as other wards were at full capacity.
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The source told The ECHO : “After my appointment, I went to walk to the pharmacy to pick up my prescription and normally it’s a straight walk, but one of the nurses said to me ‘come on I’ll take you’ because the corridors were closed off. There were security guards at the end of the corridors but you could see about seven people lying on beds inside the areas they had closed off in the corridors.
"You could hear people being sick and obviously unwell. It was awful. I just thought, imagine if that was your mum and dad.”
Dr Jim Gardner, chief medical officer at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, told The ECHO they, like many other hospital across the country, are experiencing "significant pressures" and staff are "pulling together as best as possible with the resources available".
He said: “Like many hospitals across the country, ours continue to experience significant pressures, and actions like these are necessary to maintain safe care and dignity for our patients. All patients attending the emergency department are triaged and assessed by a trained nurse using the nationally recognised methods.
"Patients are then prioritised by their clinical needs; they are reviewed at regular intervals and vulnerable patients are appropriately supported. Our staff are working tirelessly, compassionately and with the utmost professionalism in really challenging circumstances.
"We continue to frequently face delays in being able to safely discharge patients into community and social care when they no longer require hospital treatment. We are working closely with our local partners in adult and social care daily, to ensure these patients are cared for in the right place by the right teams.
"We recognise that these partners too face challenges, and we are all pulling together, as best as possible with the resources available. I would like to thank patients and their families for their understanding at this time and remind everyone, that they can help us to care for our sickest patients by only using A&E when they really need to and by contacting NHS 111 to find the most appropriate service when they have other less urgent concerns."
Dr Fiona Lemmens, deputy medical director for NHS Cheshire and Merseyside, added that hospitals are "entering a challenging winter period" and apologised for the impact this has on patients.
She said: "As is the case in many parts of the country, we are currently experiencing significant pressures across all services as we deal with the backlog arising from the COVID-19 pandemic along with the growing impact of seasonal flu and continued COVID-19 infections. We are entering a challenging winter period and at times this is resulting in longer handover times for ambulance crews at our hospitals.
"We apologise for the impact this has on patients and their families and want to assure them that patient safety is our top priority. Our staff are working in challenging circumstances and we want to thank them for their continued dedication to their patients and the wider community.
"As well as the challenges for staff and patients in the ambulance service and emergency departments, there is also significant pressure in other areas including social care and because of this we are working collaboratively with partners in all parts of the health and care system to address the delays people are experiencing. We would encourage people who are eligible to get their flu vaccination and COVID-19 booster as soon as possible and to help us by doing what they can to stay well, this not only benefits the NHS but everyone across Cheshire and Merseyside.
"NHS services remain open and available for everyone who needs them this winter and we would encourage those who require urgent medical help to continue to come forward.”
Struggles with demand at Aintree Hospital come just one week after a North West Ambulance Service worker described scenes outside the new Royal Liverpool Hospital as "carnage" as ambulances queued for hours. Over 26 ambulance crews were reportedly having to treat patients on the ambulances while they waited for beds to free up.
A spokesperson for Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Trust, who represents the Royal Liverpool Hospital, told The ECHO the issues surrounding ambulance drop offs are a national issue.
Liverpool isn't the only area where hospital staff are struggling to cope with demand. The BBC reported a gym at the Royal Derby Hospital was turned into a temporary ward due to "severe" and "intense" demand on services.
Bosses at the hospital said the building was used twice in one week for patients waiting to be discharged. The Manchester Evening News also reported last week that an unidentified patient had died of cardiac arrest in the back of an ambulance outside Fairfield General Hospital while waiting for a bed.
The hospital and North West Ambulance Service are investigating.
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