Senior leaders at Nottingham's hospitals say this winter could pose a bigger challenge for health services than the coronavirus pandemic. Rising cases of flu and other viruses alongside issues such as upcoming strikes have combined to create a situation one medical director says will take a "community effort" to get through.
Nottinghamshire Live went to visit staff at the Queen's Medical Centre on Wednesday (December 7) to discuss pressures facing the hospital's staff in the run-up to Christmas and beyond. Mark Simmonds, the Divisional Director for Medicine at the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH), met us outside the QMC's emergency department.
He highlighted the efficient turnover of ambulances at QMC as one of the current positives at the hospital. But this focus adds to capacity pressures inside the hospital itself, leading to situations such as the recent case of a 95-year-old war veteran who spent 26 hours in a QMC corridor whilst waiting for a bed.
