Inside Poole Hospital and what it's like for NHS workers

We’re at level four on the Operational Pressures Escalation Levels (OPEL) framework – the highest form of pressure a hospital can face. It has been at this level for the better part of two years.

Clinical manager Tania Ball is chairing the meeting which thoroughly combs through patient flow at Poole, the situation is trying but not at all uncommon.

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Tania takes us through what we’re dealing with. 41 patients stayed at the hospital overnight following admission – seven of whom waited for longer than 12 hours. This morning, two ambulances have been on hold at the entrance for an hour and a half. 14 patients are currently waiting for beds and the longest wait for a bed was 15 hours.

Tania Ball leads patient flow meeting at Poole Hospital (Image: Newsquest)

Taxis and other forms of transport are booked for some patients leaving the hospital – but not enough.

Thankfully, the stellar work done the previous evening means that the dozen or so emergency department admissions that had to wait in the corridors of Poole Hospital are no longer there.

University Hospitals Dorset’s chief operating officer Mark Mould is also at the meeting, hearing first hand what difficulties today will bring. “Our occupancy is essentially full,” Mark says.

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“Across Poole and Bournemouth we have around 1,050 odd beds, about 25 per cent are currently occupied by people who are fit to be released.”

Tom Bartlett is a geriatrician and explained the “heart-breaking” reality of those who are perceived as ‘bed-blocking’ – a term staff dislike.

Ambulances outside Poole Hospital (Image: Daily Echo)

“Hospitals are great if you need them,” he said.

“The older people we know who are stuck in beds are more likely to become depressed, fall and break a hip, less likely to eat and then more likely to get pneumonia and other infections – by being here they’re actually being exposed to more risk.

“Then it’s really heart-breaking because those people who you think are ready to go then become unwell. A significant number of those people then die in hospital and your gut feeling is that had the system been in place with more carers in the community that may not have happened.”

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When beds are needed, most pressure falls inevitably on the emergency department.

“At the moment it’s the worst I’ve ever seen it,” said ED consultant Dr Deborah Mayne. “The waits are increasing all the time and we can’t get patients out quick enough.

Poole Hospital

“Often we don’t have space to see patients anymore because there’s no physical space left. That’s why we then end up with a queue of ambulances outside.”

A few days earlier, Dr Mayne reported the department had just 34 spaces available for 95 patients who had turned up.

“If there were enough carers in the community and social services had better funding, this department would not look like it does now. It’s completely unacceptable having patients in the corridor.”

Staff have to improvise when demand becomes too great. A relative’s room within the department is now a space for five patients to sit and a staff seminar room is now used by ambulance crews to do ECGs.

“Trying to keep that many people safe and cared for is just hard, but they are being seen – a lot is made about wait times but people are being seen and treated between admission and getting a bed.

“The public know the issues and we’re grateful to them for their understanding when they arrive.”