Swindon's Great Western Hospital under 'unprecedented pressure'

Due to social distancing, space has been reduced in waiting rooms and clinical areas, meaning services are susceptible to becoming overwhelmed, the hospital said

Staff at Swindon's Great Western Hospital were operating under "unprecedented pressure", they said.

It is in part because of the number of people who have developed health problems during lockdown who now need treatment.

The hospital said it had been placed on its highest operational alert level "several times" in the past week.

A spokesperson said protocols had been put in place but also acknowledged it remained a difficult time for staff.

Wiltshire's chief nurse Lyn Batson said: "One of the challenges from the pandemic is that a lot of people have put off going to GPs, going to hospital, until they become very unwell, and then need admission to hospital.

"[The situation] is concerning, and this pandemic has highlighted even more the need for long-term investment in the NHS."

'Exhausted'

Ms Batson said despite lower numbers of Covid patients, this "continues to be a really incredibly challenging time for nursing staff".

"They [nursing staff] are exhausted and we are seeing some staff now suffering from post traumatic stress disorder because of their experiences during the height of the pandemic," she added.

"We are trying to address some of the backlog in care, we know there are well over four million people waiting for treatment...but again this is adding to the additional pressure on nursing staff who are exhausted and depleted in numbers."

'Longer waits'

It is understood that as well as those who delayed seeking treatment due to the pandemic, part of the problem is that with the lifting of lockdown restrictions, more people are out and about and picking up injuries.

This means that as opposed to at the height of the pandemic, where there was intense pressure on the intensive care unit, now they are seeing more patients across the board.

The hospital said the right actions were being taken.

Jim O'Connell, chief operating officer, said: "Our urgent and emergency services are under significant pressure at the moment which means that unfortunately people may face longer waits to be seen due to the high volume of people attending.

"Given the pressure we are currently under, we ask people to consider seeking alternative forms of treatment before attending our emergency department or urgent treatment centre.

"This will allow our teams to see patients with very serious or life-threatening health conditions as quickly as possible and prevent our services from being overwhelmed."