Paramedics toiling under winter pressures and rising Covid cases say they feel like the ‘Government doesn’t care’ about them.
As the Omicron variant continues to spread rapidly through Greater Manchester’s communities, infection rates have increased in all ten boroughs.
Throughout the region, it stands at 1503.9 per 100,000 people, while the rate in e very borough is above 1,000.
READ MORE: Coronavirus LIVE: Updates as England is to face NO further restrictions before New Year
But with reassuring early evidence on Omicron indicating less severity than Delta, Boris Johnson is understood to have ruled out the need for further action over the New Year period.
While other parts of the UK have ramped-up measures to tackle the threat, Health Secretary Sajid has put in place no formal restrictions.
Instead, people have been advised to 'remain cautious' and celebrate New Year outside if possible.
While the decision has been welcomed by many - especially those in the hospitality industry - it has sparked consternation in the scientific community.
It has also come as a blow to some frontline health workers, including those at North West Ambulance Service (NWAS).
One experienced paramedic, who is keen to stress that NWAS management is doing all it can in the circumstances, told the Manchester Evening News : “We are all doing our best.
“We’ve still got outstanding emergencies all over the place. We are seeing an increase in Covid patients, we are seeing them every day now. They are struggling to breathe, have severe fatigue.
“For me it’s gone to hardly any to 10 this week. We had a 27-year-old woman struggling to breathe.
“On two days this week it was all Covid calls.”
As is the case in all tiers of the NHS, staffing is also an issue, with the paramedic recalling one crew who ‘all caught Covid’ after taking a patient to hospital.
He said many, although not all, of the Covid cases they were seeing were among the un-vaccinated.
He said Wythenshawe Hospital was on divert for hours on Monday as it turned away patients from an A&E department at capacity, while night crews were stuck handing over patients well past the end of their shifts.
The paramedic added: “I think the decision to have no more restrictions is absolutely shocking.
“We are seeing Covid every day, people struggling to breathe, we are seeing strain on the health service, and nobody seems to care. The Government doesn’t seem to care.
“It feels like they are totally blind to it. That’s how a lot of healthcare staff feel.
“We go to homes where there are 12 people having a party and we are taking someone to hospital. We have felt demoralised for a while, it’s like everyone thinks there’s no pandemic.
“It’s when they start asking us to treat patients in the back of ambulances outside hospital, then we’ll know it’s really bad.”
Another paramedic who spoke anonymously added: “I have little faith in the Government.
“It’s a case of do as we say but not as we do. When we are out here doing this job and they are having parties and enjoying themselves it’s hard.
“It’s difficult to see Covid patients in their twenties. Unfortunately a lot of people aren’t following the guidelines.”
The Manchester Evening News has contacted Wythenshawe Hospital, the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership and NWAS for comment.
