'Amazing' Whiston Hospital staff thanked as Covid fight continues

St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust revealed this week that it was treating more Covid patients than at any point in the pandemic, as it made a desperate plea to the public for help in bringing infection rates down.

Danielle Wilde, 39, from Sutton Manor, spent three nights in Whiston Hospital last week after presenting to A&E with severe abdominal pain.

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She saw first-hand the huge strain Covid-19 is having on exhausted hospital staff, who are battling a third wave of coronavirus patients.

“My sister took me in as there was no chance of an ambulance,” Ms Wilde told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

“When I got there it was very busy with a small area for Covid patients to wait.

“I was very sick at the time but what I did notice was elderly people coming in and their husbands/wives being sent away, which was just heartbreaking to watch someone so ill getting upset as they had to wait alone, me being one of them.

“The staff were amazing, although there was a long wait.

“After I got past the initial assessment there was another long wait then a group of us were taken to another room to again, socially distance wait for a blood test, and although the staff had been on 14 hour shifts without any breaks, they were amazingly patient, kind, and professional.”

Ms Wilde said it took 10 hours before she was finally put on a ward at 3am.

“I was on an IV drip in the waiting room, which I’d never complain about as this just shows the immense pressure the staff are under,” she said.

“I don’t think people realise what it’s like for the staff at all. They are doing more than double of work with half the staff as they are all off with the virus.

“I had the best care off the team on my ward, the doctors, nurses, staff, porters, they were all amazing.

“They wouldn’t let me home until all my bloods etc were back to normal and I was feeling well enough to go home, although they desperately needed my bed as they were having to shut a ward and make it another Covid ward.

“I would say if anyone has to go into hospital then please be patient with the A&E staff as they are doing their very best.”

Hospital bosses have had to open a number of dedicated Covid wards over the past week, as admissions continue to rise at an alarming pace.

On Wednesday, the trust revealed that 168 inpatients were being treated for the effects of Covid-19 at Whiston Hospital.

In April 2020, the worst period of the pandemic for the hospital until now, the highest number of inpatients was 153.

On Tuesday, 29 Covid-positive patients were admitted to the hospital – enough to fill an entire ward.

Intensive care capacity has also had to be expanded to accommodate the increasing numbers of patients requiring the highest levels of care.

The hospital trust also surpassed 400 Covid deaths this week.

Whiston Hospital

The death toll now stands at 417, with seven new deaths reported in latest 24-hour period.

For Ms Wilde, the experience has further reinforced the severity of the current situation.

She hopes others recognise the impact Covid-19 is having on the NHS and those who are being struck down by the virus.

Ms Wilde said: “I was always aware of how bad it was to be honest, I’ve always stuck to the rules, and I’ve been doing the mass testing each week here in St Helens.

“I work in a salon so I’m on furlough at the moment.

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“But it has opened my eyes all the more to actually see what the staff are going through.

“And it’s very upsetting that people are being very selfish at the moment.

“Not just the staff though, seeing patients crying in A&E, waiting on their own scared to death in case their Covid gets worse or they catch it.”