Health boss praises staff during bed "crisis"

Thursday 29 March 2018

The President of Guernsey's Health and Social Care Committee has thanked all staff for working together to avoid a crisis as the Princess Elizabeth Hospital experiences an unexpected "exceptionally busy period."

Deputy Heidi Soulsby has praised HSC staff for "amazing work" yesterday,as she confirmed the PEH currently has bed capacity "running at some of the highest levels seen all winter."

Amazing work from staff across HSC working together today to avoid making a drama out of a crisis ...... more tomorrow.

— Heidi Soulsby (@HeidiSoulsby) March 28, 2018

Sources had told Express earlier this week that there were concerns over bed availability at the Princess Elizabeth Hospital, with that situation being confirmed this morning. Deputy Soulsby said her staff "avoided making a drama out of a crisis."

In a statement, HSC elaborated to explain that the PEH is currently experiencing an extraordinary demand for beds with an increase in the number of patients with respiratory illness, including diagnosed cases of Influenza B resulting in an increased demand on hospital beds. The Committee said staff are working hard to manage the situation so patients continue to receive good care.

In view of the bed crisis hospital staff made "the very difficult decision to postpone some elective operations" with HSC saying there is a lack of 'ICU beds' explaining that surgery cannot go ahead if the necessary care cannot be provided post operatively.  

Guernsey's Chief Nurse Juliet Beal said the pressures the hospital is seeing is the most severe it has been throughout the 2017/2018 winter:

"Bed capacity at the hospital in the past 48 hours has been running at some of the highest levels we have seen all winter. We are dealing with the tail end of the annual winter pressures which we plan and resource for each year but what we have seen this week proves that it is extremely hard to predict when demand will be at its highest. We are currently caring for some very sick patients which results in increased pressure on our bed numbers. 

"We do not take the decision to postpone operations lightly. We understand that this is extremely frustrating for patients that have been waiting for surgery for some time. The safest option, when pressure on hospital beds is so great however, is to postpone elective surgery. Our team have been speaking to patients and their families to explain the situation and we will of course re-arrange as soon as possible anybody that is affected by our need to postpone."

"Our staff have and continue to work incredibly hard together to ensure our patients continue to receive the high level of care, despite being under considerable pressure due to the increased demand This is yet another fantastic example of how our dedicated and hardworking teams pull together to continue to provide services to the public."

Speaking to Express, Deputy Soulsby said staff had gone above and beyond to meet shift requirements with some people coming in early, or working late.