UK hospital employees ‘drowning’ as a result of hantavirus sufferers isolating after cruise ship
A number of Brit passengers who had been on board the vessel hit by an outbreak of hantavirus are isolating in an accommodation block on the grounds of Arrowe Park Hospital in Merseyside
Hantavirus patients arriving at the hospital grounds(Image: Liverpool ECHO)
Staff at a UK hospital believe priority is being given to passengers from a hantavirus-stricken cruise ship who are quarantining on the hospital grounds. Employees in Merseyside’s Arrowe Park Hospital A&E department claim they are “drowning” due to resources and attention being allegedly diverted to those isolating in the nearby accommodation block.
Earlier this month it emerged that several Brits, who had been aboard the MV Hondius vessel struck by a hantavirus outbreak, would be residing in the block on the Wirral hospital grounds to complete their isolation period. This is the same block that housed returnees from the Chinese city of Wuhan at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Exasperated and overwhelmed staff within Arrowe Park’s A&E department told the Liverpool ECHO of their resentment over what they perceive as alleged prioritisation of this project, while conditions in A&E continue to be extremely challenging. However, the Wirral University Teaching Hospital Trust said they did not “recognise” the claims and added that that staff welfare is a top priority.
One staff source said: “We are still coming in every day to so many patients lining the corridor. Last week we had that many on the corridors that they were blocking all the doors and we had to hold people in the back of ambulances because we physically ran out of space.
“At one point we had 95 patients in the waiting room. They were all on trolleys around the corridors all the way round the back of the department. It’s just horrendous.”
They added: “This is in the summer. This is supposed to be our quiet season. All the escalation beds are supposed to be closing now because we don’t use them once we hit spring. But we’ve just got nowhere to put anybody. It’s just ridiculous. It’s so dangerous.”
Hospital workers also expressed concerns that resources were allegedly being diverted towards the hantavirus initiative, while desperately needed support for their A&E crisis remained lacking. One team member claimed: “We were on duty that day when they all arrived. We had matrons, managers that are coming in on a Sunday, all running round getting stuff to meet and greet our guests.
“Meanwhile we’ve got patients on the back of our corridor that have got no nurses and no care. We’re holding patients in the back of ambulances, we’re asking the trust to send us staff because we’re drowning.”
They alleged: “100% they are being prioritised. There are matrons working over there. Why aren’t they working in our department? Why aren’t they working on our wards and helping our sick patients? We’ve got patients that are coming to harm every day because we are so stretched.”
The trust maintains that the hantavirus isolation project is a nationally-led response and insists there has been no prioritisation as all hospital services have continued to run as normal.
The trust added that all staffing reviews and safety huddles are and were completed every day and say the average ambulance handover time remains positive and has been less than an hour throughout the month of May.
A spokesperson for Wirral University Teaching Hospital said: “We do not recognise the claims made. The welfare of our staff is a high priority for the Trust.
“Throughout our support to the national hantavirus response, the Executive Team held daily briefings face-to-face and online so that staff could raise any concerns, ask any questions and share feedback which was overwhelmingly positive.
“We continue to encourage our staff to raise concerns through the established internal channels so that they can be addressed appropriately. We would also take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to our staff, partners and the general public in support of the response.”
