An A&E consultant has warned a 'perfect storm' is brewing in Greater Manchester's hospitals as winter approaches.
Carole Gavin, who is also vice-president of membership at the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, has told the Manchester Evening News that a combination of rising Covid cases, plus an unseasonal surge in patients, together with infection control measures and an exhausted workforce is already taking its toll on A&E departments across the region as summer draws to a close.
Patients, she warned, are already enduring 'long waits in corridors', as well as receiving medications and fluids.
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"It's been like this for the last few months," Dr Gavin said.
"We are still suffering from already having the same number of patients as we do in winter and we are trying to plan for winter - which we know will be the hardest winter we've ever had.
"We are all concerned there won't be enough beds to deal with the anticipated winter increase in patients. We've already called for more beds and we can already see problems with beds not being available."
Dr Gavin added: "Covid cases are starting to rise, but the majority of patients don't have Covid and they are presenting in such big numbers, which is unusual for this time of year.
"Staff are exhausted. Especially when we see every day patients waiting in corridors for long periods of time, long delays for patients who need to be admitted because hospitals are full."
Dr Gavin says clinicians are also bracing themselves for another wave of Covid as schoolchildren return and people start to mingle more indoors.
The consultant added: "Most people who work on the frontline have seen what's happened with the waves, I think we all expected this would happen and we'd be looking at another wave and I guess people are concerned."
As reported by the Manchester Evening News on Wednesday, there is a huge backlog of patients on the list for elective treatment, with nearly 30,000 people having waited longer than a year according to figures from June.
The ongoing need for infection control continues to add to the pressure and restricts beds too, with Carole adding: "We see patients presenting with other problems but because we are testing everybody before admission we are finding some are coincidentally infected although they may not have symptoms.
"We have people waiting for procedures and they are in more pain, the list is endless."
She added: "It's a perfect storm.
"It needs to be looked at at the highest level. The health secretary, the chancellor, the Prime Minister. They need to have a clear plan of how we are going to tackle it."
Dr Gavin admits she is now 'beyond trying to suggest things', adding: "It's such a big problem it can only be helped by the top level.
"Staff are demoralised and exhausted and we really can't see an end to it. It's making people very tired.
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"People are still doing their best to try and treat patients the best we can do in the circumstances.
"We are trying to work with people at NHS England and in the Government towards some sort of plan to improve things."
Patients could also be attending A&E unnecessarily, medics have warned.
Health bosses are urging people to access care by calling 111 before attending the emergency department.
They are also keen that as many people as possible are vaccinated before the winter.
Dr Gavin added: "No vaccine for anything is 100 per cent effective and if you don't have all your population vaccinated there will always be that pool of circulating virus, especially if there is a more transmissible breakthrough through virus like Delta.
"The key thing is people should be vaccinated and that will hopefully reduce the severity if they get it.
"Those people who were vulnerable before, people with other conditions, are still vulnerable to getting it more severely even if they are vaccinated, but hopefully it can save them from the worst effects."
What the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership has to say
Dr Chris Brookes, A&E consultant and joint acute medical lead for Greater Manchester said: “We are seeing significant demand on health services including for GP appointments and in emergency departments, which are seeing an increased number of patients with a broad range of conditions.
“We are asking patients to consider whether A&E is the most appropriate place for them, or whether suitable care can be accessed via an alternative route, even if this means a longer wait.
“We want to remind the public that A&E is for life-threatening emergencies or accidents only and that coming to A&E for other reasons means much longer waiting times, and increased pressure for staff who work hard to ensure they see and treat the sickest patients first.
“Many patients that come to A&E could be treated or advised elsewhere including a minor injury unit, local pharmacy, GP or NHS 111. NHS 111 have trained advisors that can direct you to the right service and support people to access the most appropriate care for their need.
“We absolutely don’t want to be in the position where we are treating people on corridors and recognise that we need to continue our work to improve flow through the emergency department and manage hospital bed capacity. When this does happen, it is usually to release ambulances for people waiting for them in the community. We always strive to provide the best care with dignity for people needing NHS services.”
The Manchester Evening News has asked the Department for Health and Social Care for comment.
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