Emergency departments 'still open for business', after drop in stroke and heart attack patients

  • Watch Graham Stothard's report from the Lister Hospital in Stevenage

Senior NHS staff fear people suffering serious health issues such as heart attacks and strokes are not getting the treatment they need as they are too afraid to go into hospitals.

Doctors at the Lister Hospital in Stevenage say they have seen admissions for such problems drop both during this wave, and the first wave of the pandemic.

They have changed the entire layout of the Emergency Department at The Lister. It now operates as two separate wards. 

Credit: ITV Anglia

The red area, dealing with people suspected or confirmed as having Covid, and the yellow area, those unlikely to have the virus.

It greatly reduces the chances of Covid spread, but means almost everything takes longer to do, leading to greater pressure on staff. 

They have put in new services to help look after staff members’ mental health, and have managed to administer at least one vaccination dose to all staff working for the hospital and three quarters of staff in the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust (which includes Lister, Hertford County Hospital, Mount Vernon Cancer Centre in Northwood and New QEII Hospital in Welwyn Garden City).

Some nurses have spoken of the stress of going home, only to find people spreading lies about the pandemic on the internet.

The Trust has seen a small drop in emergency department patients since the pandemic, but due to the extra cautionary measures needed to limit the spread of coronavirus, members of staff are busier.

The Emergency Department at Lister Hospital, Stevenage. Credit: ITV Anglia.

They have had to draft in people who would not normally work in emergency departments to help.

The Trust’s medical director says whatever happens, they will face the challenge.