False claims hospitals aren't busy has 'devastating' effect on morale at QA Hospital in Portsmouth
Video report by ITV News Meridian's Sally Simmonds
Staff at the Queen Alexandra (QA) Hospital in Portsmouth say false claims that they are not busy has had a devastating effect on morale.
The NHS Trust says it is completely full, and half of the 1,000 patients have tested positive for Covid-19.
Everyone from doctors to nurses and porters are feeling the strain.
Liz Rix, Chief Nurse, QA Hospital:
ITV News Meridian has been given access to the respiratory ward, where the second wave of coronavirus has decimated staff numbers and left patients frightened for their lives.
Dorinda Garner and her husband were both admitted to the QA Hospital.
The grandmother-of-three is scared because she knows how ill she feels and she is aware that her husband's condition is worse.
Some staff are also off sick and until they are vaccinated, they are all at risk.
Mark Hancock, Patient Flow Manager at the QA Hospital, was managing the unprecedented level of Covid admissions until he himself caught the virus.
Mark says despite being fit and active he still required hospital treatment.
However, he says he has "every confidence coming into this hospital where I work".
Another Covid patient, Joseph Ware, says he did not take the virus seriously, but he does now after being admitted to the QA Hospital for treatment.
Joseph admits he thought Covid-19 would "just be a cold or something" but says it is "life-changing".
He now wants others to take the "horrible" virus seriously.