Covid: Royal Bolton Hospital staff say care is suffering due to influx of coronavirus patients

Staff working at one of the region's busiest hospitals say the care they are able to give patients is suffering because they are so stretched by Covid.

The Royal Bolton Hospital serves a large catchment area, and on top of normal winter pressures it is dealing with the huge strain of the pandemic.

Across the rest of Greater Manchester it it thought a quarter of all patients being treated in hospital have coronavirus.

With little more than masks and gowns the staff are trying to keep Covid at bay, providing unrelenting care to those scared and gasping for breath.

Staff at the Royal Bolton Hospital are in the third peak of the pandemic without any respite.

Tired and traumatised staff are in the third peak of the pandemic without any respite, looking after more than 130 patients in intensive and critical care, and across five new Covid wards.

In the first four weeks of January alone, 78 people have died, bringing the total in the hospital to 571.

At the mortuary the care is just the same as the rest of the hospital.

Dr Rauf Munshi, the Clinical Lead for Acute Medicine at the hospital says the hospital is "busy and difficult".

He said: "We're seeing more patients which means we have to open more beds.

"We don't have more staff due to high sickness levels so you're having to learn to cope and manage with what you've got, so although there is guidance to suggest that nursing ratios, doctor ratios, staffing levels to keep patients safe is recommended, you can't always deliver that and sometimes you have to make do with what you've got - which puts extra pressure on the staff looking after unwell patients."

Rebecca started working at the hospital as a student nurse, and stayed. She tries to look after patients as she would her own family.

She said: "It's my duty. I've done my training. You're not just the nurse, you're being that relative, you're holding their hand as they're fighting for their breath, it's just awful, it really is, it's horrendous."

Around 300 staff have been trained to support those forced to isolate or at breaking point.

Every bed in the Covid wards are full, and staff say they are exhausted dealing with wave after wave of serious ill patients.

Ash Hussain is a matron whose usual wards turned into one to help critically ill Covid patients.

He said: "Day in, day out everyone is tired, a lot of patients are dying. You're getting that message out tot he family, ringing the family and breaking that news, a lot of our staff are not used to that - I do speak to quite a lot of staff that are struggling."

Staff are experiencing burn out and post traumatic stress, 300 staff have been trained to support those forced to isolate or at breaking point.

Many have been redeployed to help with a simple call, or FaceTime with a patient - a vital link for relatives who cannot be with their loved ones.

Caroline Little is a seconded Mental Health Nurse, she says the emotional health of patients and families also needs to be taken into consideration.

She added: "What we're finding now is there are perhaps more young people being admitted and also at times we're making calls to family members, and I think we really need to be thinking about their emotional health.

Each ribbon represents a life lost to Covid. There are more than 570 ribbons here, with almost 80 from the first four weeks of the year.

In the Bereavement Garden each ribbon represents a life lost to Covid. There are more than 570 ribbons, with almost 80 in January alone.

Those working in the mortuary say they are struggling to see an end - with their door constantly opening to new patients.