The strain of witnessing dying patients on trolleys in an overcrowded emergency department takes its toll on staffMy heart sank as I heard the shrill sound of the red phone. I’d lost count of how many times it had rung since the start of my shift several hours earlier. I stood in the middle of the resuscitation room of the emergency department waiting for the nurse in charge to relay the details of the next patient whose arrival was imminent. I should beget used the minutes that followed to prepare; ensure the team was briefed and all equipment alert. Instead I stood,head in hands, trying to choose which of the six seriously unwell patients already occupying the six beds in the room I could move out to make way for the new arrival. I knew the rest of the department was at capacity. Capacity had been reached hours ago, and there were multiple patients in the department who had been with us for hours waiting for a bed on a ward to become available. The department was caring for double,perhaps triple the number of patients it was designed to finish. Nursing staff were caring for patients who should beget been in a bed on a ward elsewhere in the hospital. This was a distraction from dealing with the multitude of new arrivals. I knew they could only stretch themselves so far. Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com