Isle of Wight NHS on heat Covid and care crisis

Juliet Pearce, Director of Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professionals at Isle of Wight NHS Trust, said: "The hospital is under a significant amount of pressure, and it does feel a bit like the perfect storm.

"The heat is having an impact on people's health and well-being. We've got a high number of Covid absences among staff.

"We've got a lot of very ill patients in the hospital and we don't have any empty beds.

She told the County Press: "That's coupled with a slight increase in demand in the emergency department and we have a number of patients who we're unable to discharge safely, back to their own home setting, because there are issues with availability of a social care support and care placements.

"It has been quite a rapid increase and it has certainly got a lot worse quite quickly. We were in a pretty good place."

Made worse by the heatwave, pressure is growing on the Isle of Wight's hospital.

• Read more: Isle of Wight Met Office extreme heat warning further extended

Covid cases are going up and there are around 30 people in hospital with the virus at the moment - though not all of them were admitted because of it - compared to six or seven a few weeks ago.

So far, thanks to the vaccine, there are no seriously ill patients needing ventilation, but case numbers are causing extra pressure, as staff try to stop Covid spreading across the wards.

'Significant' numbers of staff are also getting ill and are having to stay at home.

Just a short time after rules on wearing facemasks at St Mary's Hospital were relaxed, they had to be reintroduced.

• Read more: Isle of Wight hospital warning over Covid and heatwave pressures

How can we help the NHS on the Isle of Wight?

We're being asked to support the NHS by considering wearing masks in crowded places and by calling the NHS on 111 before turning up at the hospital.

Juliet's clear message is take care of ourselves and others: "There's lots of good evidence that in extreme heat people with pre-existing medical conditions do struggle and rates of certain types of illnesses go up.

"People who have cardiac issues, people who are breathless, the frail and the elderly will really struggle in this heat.

"We will see an increase in admissions and that could last for about 10 days after the end of the heatwave. It will have a big impact."

We're asked to look after ourselves - drink lots of water and less alcohol, check on neighbours and stay out of the sun, Crucially, don't underestimate the heat, warns the Trust's Chief Nurse.

On top of all of that, the care system is also battling Covid absence and staff shortage, which means patients who have recovered cannot be safely discharged from the hospital.

If you are asked to collect a patient, the hospital requests you do so as quickly as possible.

Juliet said: "We've got long-term plans to try and improve the position as much as possible. We're do lots of good work with our partners. But this an immediate issue."

"It means we will see changes to what we normally expect from our healthcare and today's message is an honest one.

"Some elective orthopaedic (non-emergency) cases have been cancelled, which means longer waits for those who were due to get the procedures, and also in the emergency department. Cancer treatment should not be affected, however."