Culture

Croydon University Hospital has half of its wards dedicated to treating coronavirus patients – with that percentage expected to rise over the coming weeks

Staff at one of the UK’s worst-hit hospitals have said they and their patients are “frightened” as coronavirus continues its deadly grip.
Croydon University Hospital has seen wards once used to treat elderly orthopaedic patients transformed into one strictly used for coronavirus patients.
Others suffering more serious cases of the disease are treated in intensive care, with many on ventilators.
Around half of the hospital space is now dedicated to strictly treating coronavirus patients.
The hospital’s Chief Executive Matthew Kershaw said he expects the percentage or rise over the next few weeks.
Around a quarter of those to have been admitted to the Croydon University Hospital have sadly lost their battle against coronavirus.
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A woman removed her mask and holds her head in her hand (Image: Sky News)
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Chief nurse Elaine Clancy told Sky News : “Patients are understandably frightened, staff are frightened as well frightened that they can’t automatically make patients better, they can’t make this better… and they’re frightened for themselves, their loved ones and their colleagues.”
Patients who are discharged a treated like “lottery winners” with the incredible medics cheering them as they leave hospital.
Ward leader Marion Spence told us: “We cheer them on if this was a football field, it would be filled with people cheering. We give them a good clap and cheer them on and even on the phone, we tell the relatives ‘It’s good news she’s coming home!'”
Many of the nurses in the hospital are treating patients while also facing their own fears and worries – and in some cases have moved out of their family homes to they can continue to work.
Nurses on the virus wards say patients and staff are “frightened” (Image: Sky News)
A nurse on one of the coronavirus wards at Croydon University Hospital (Image: Sky News)
The hospital began enforcing stricter social distancing rules weeks ago with a ban on visitors to any of its adult inpatient wards announced on March 22.
A statement on the trust’s website said: “We have made the decision to significantly reduce the number of visitors to Croydon University Hospital until further notice.
“From Sunday March 22 we will no longer be allowing visitors to any of our adult inpatient wards and we will ask family members to instead keep in touch via telephone or video calls where possible.”
The trust added: “Women in labour in our maternity unit will still be able to bring a birthing partner with them and children under 16 on our inpatient wards will still be allowed visitors, but these will be limited to two at a time.”
A member of staff in PPE at one of Croydon University Hospital’s COVID-19 wards (Image: Sky News)
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This week, Dominic Raab, standing in for the Prime Minister, urged the country to stringently stick to lockdown measures to help take pressure of the NHS.
He urged the public to think long and hard about the impact on heroic NHS staff if they ignored the rules.
After all the efforts everybody has made, after all the sacrifices so many people have made lets not ruin it now, Mr Raab said.
Lets not undo the gains weve made, lets not waste the sacrifices so many people have made. We mustnt give the coronavirus a second chance to kill more people and to hurt our country.
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Coronavirus outbreak
Apologising that people would not be able to spend time with their families over Easter he added: The deaths are still rising. Its too early to lift the measures that we put in place.
Ministers launched a Stay at Home This Easter publicity drive designed to make sunseekers think twice.
Today, experts have said continuing the lockdown for “several weeks” is “not unreasonable”.
Professor Paul Cosford said: “I think several weeks isnt unreasonable. Lets hope its sooner than that, he told BBC Radio 4s Today programme.
All my experience dealing with any sort of infectious disease suggests once you start getting things under control, that is the time you absolutely need to continue with all your measures so you can bring the disease right down, essentially to crack it across the country.
He said the restrictions could be lifted in stages.
I could conceive of circumstances in which some of the restrictions are lifted sooner and some are lifted later, he said.