Operations have been cancelled at St Mary’s Hospital as pressure on the Island’s health system grows, with some 200 people a day now visiting The Beacon.
The hospital is appealing for Islanders to call the NHS 111 telephone number if they feel they need urgent medical help before making a visit to the Beacon Centre.
The number of people attending the Beacon Centre has reached an all-time high, with hospital staff consistently seeing around 200 people each day. Some of these attendances could have been dealt with much more quickly, and without the need for a visit to St Mary’s, if a call to 111 was made first.
Dr Mark Pugh, IoW NHS Trust Executive Medical Director, said:
“Currently we’re experiencing an extreme volume of traffic through the hospital doors. We’re seeing over 200 people a day in the Beacon Centre and Emergency Department and we’re having to admit more people who are particularly poorly. That situation for us is compounded by the fact that our staff are also experiencing illness, so we’re really stretched across the organisation at the moment.
“We really need people to think about whether they need to attend the Beacon Centre. If you think you should we would ask you to phone NHS 111 first and they may well be able to offer you alternative treatment options like seeing your GP, a pharmacist. On the other hand, if it’s an emergency, the NHS 111 service can send out an ambulance directly to you if that’s what’s required.”
When you call 111 the call is answered by a highly trained call handler, supported by nurses and paramedics based at St. Mary’s Hospital. They will assess the symptoms and put the caller directly in touch with the people who can help; for example, an out-of -hours doctor, a district nurse, an emergency dentist — or it may be something as simple as a 24 hour pharmacy.
999 is for emergencies and life-threatening situations only and the Emergency Department (A&E) is for serious, life-threatening injuries and illnesses that need urgent medical attention.
Dr Mark Pugh continued:
“We have had to contact a number of people to cancel their operation this week. Regrettably, we have had to do that because we just don’t have the beds and therefore it’s not safe to carry out the surgery in that situation. If you don’t hear from us you can assume that your surgery or outpatient appointment still stands.
“The steps we are taking are to ensure the safety of our patients which is of paramount importance to us. I would like to apologise to those people whose care we have had to inconvenience by taking this regrettable step by cancelling surgery. Nonetheless, we have to offer a safe service and that’s what we’re doing but we’re really stretched.”
It is vitally important for those who have been unwell with vomiting and/or diarrhoea recently, especially if they have had these symptoms in the past 48 hours, not to visit the hospital unless it is an emergency. Good hygiene is important during outbreaks of diarrhoea and vomiting as it is highly contagious. Keeping hydrated and drinking plenty of fluids is very important, particularly for the elderly and the very young that are most at risk. If the symptoms persist, telephone NHS 111. Further details of symptoms are available on the NHS Choices website www.nhs.uk.
All patients affected by the cancellation operations will be contacted. All other patients who have not been contacted should attend for their appointment or procedure as scheduled.
