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I have just had another grim account from a junior doctor working in a London hospital. They painted an awful picture of the demands on the system and the toll it’s exerting. Across the UK there are literally hundreds of thousands of HCW with their own experiences. This is one.
For a change, I’ll start with the good news. On Thursday they discharged a 69 year-old man who had high-blood pressure, diabetes and Covid19. He was well enough to be sent home.
Then came Friday... a 23 year old student with no underlying health problems was intubated and put on a ventilator with a 50/50 chance of survival. The patient was caring for his Covid19 positive brother, when he contracted a big dose of the virus.
On one ward a young man fighting for his life, while his father died in the ward next door. Another doctor had to phone a woman to tell her that her brother had died. Apparently her father had also died that day. She’s in self-isolation.
“We are running out of everything - masks, visors, antibiotics oxygen.” The situation is so tense that staff are hiding personal protective equipment from each other. Doctors are being asked to carry out lumbar punctures, which can produce lots of fluid, without adequate masks.
The pressure on time and resources means that doctors are calling death sooner, rather than doing chest compressions for hours. One reason is the time, and chances of survival are low. Another is that they are dangerous for the HCW doing them even with the right PPE.
This is just one first hand account of the situation in a well staffed hospital. Though I also was told that at another central London hospital the numbers are so high that Covid19 patients over 65 are not being put on ventilators because resources are so scarce. #covid19
