‘It’s worse than Ukraine’: Doctor says hospitals are so overrun they are struggling more than medical centres in warzone
- Paul Ransom works part time in NHS and responds to natural disasters abroad
- He says he has rarely seen corridors overflowing in places like Ukraine or Georgia
- He claims staff are at their wits’ end how to pick the most serious patients to bring in into a resuscitation room
A doctor has claimed overflowing UK hospitals are worse than those in Ukraine and warned staff are at their wits’ end.
Paul Ransom works part time in the NHS in Sussex but also responds to natural disasters abroad and teaches medical skills in war-torn countries.
In a letter to his local newspaper The Argus, he said: ‘Sometimes I feel guilty at seeing my NHS colleagues trying to keep patients safe and sometimes even keep them alive in conditions that are worse than those I see in many hospitals I work in abroad.
‘In Ukraine, Georgia, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and many other places I have worked, I very rarely see corridors overflowing with patients waiting for a cubicle, with nursing and medical staff at their wits’ end how to pick the most serious patients to bring in into a resuscitation room doubling up on beds.
Paul Ransom works part time in the NHS in Sussex but also responds to natural disasters abroad and teaches medical skills in war-torn countries. Ambulances are seen waiting outside Waterloo Ambulance Station during the strikes last month
‘No other country in Europe would expose patients to these conditions.
‘Sometimes when I read my WhatsApps from Brighton when I am deployed overseas, it seems to me that we should be redirecting our humanitarian efforts to the corridors in UK hospitals such as our own in Sussex rather than in conflict countries abroad.’
Dr Ransom, who has worked in the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath, was given an OBE for his work in healthcare in foreign countries. He has responded to crises such as the Haitian earthquake in 2010 as well as teaching medical skills in wartorn Ukraine.
Dr Ransom stressed that he did not wish to blame or shame hospital management.
He said: ‘Sometimes when I read my WhatsApps from Brighton when I am deployed overseas, it seems to me that we should be redirecting our humanitarian efforts to the corridors in UK hospitals such as our own in Sussex rather than in conflict countries abroad’
NHS Sussex declared a critical incident on December 30 due to high demand for A&E services as well as more people calling 111 and 999. The alert has since been stood down.
Dr George Findlay, of University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, said: ‘Our staff are doing a phenomenal job in really tough circumstances, and I wish to convey my immense gratitude for all they are doing to care for patients and each other at such a difficult time.
‘We know the current A&E department in Brighton is not an ideal environment, which is why we are planning how to expand the space available following the opening of the new Louisa Martindale Building on the County site this year.’
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