A 'broken' paramedic has issued a desperate plea for health chiefs to save Worcestershire Royal Hospital. 

In an open letter to Sajid Javid, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, the paramedic, who wished not to be named, called for urgent help for the NHS within the county.

She told of how burnt out, experienced staff are thinking of quitting the ambulance service as they simply can't cope.

Her full letter can be read below:

 

Dear Sir,

I hope you are enjoying your new role within Parliament and this finds you well.

I am sorry to say unfortunately this is a negative email, I’ve tried to contact Robin Walker who's my local MP and have had no response, despite emails being sent over a year apart.

I am emailing to beg for urgent help for the NHS within Worcestershire.

I am a Paramedic in Worcester, and I am unfortunately becoming all too familiar with having to sit outside Worcestershire Royal Hospital for over five hours each shift, waiting to offload one patient into the department.

The skillset of a paramedic within Worcestershire has now evolved to having to deal with (understandably) angry patients and relatives who are having to wait over 18 hours for an emergency ambulance.

Constantly apologising to patients that there is no space in the hospital to offload, being able to do a 12 plus hour shifts with no break, and sometimes having to not convey patients to hospital due to the delays - despite them potentially needing it.

I have never seen staff so burnt out and low in morale as I do now. On a daily basis we are just trying to make it through another shift, trying to survive in what feels like drowning in an ocean.

Staff, including myself, are sadly now used to working minimum 13 hour shifts due to never finishing work on time thanks to hospitals delays - yet being constantly criticised that we’re not providing enough care.

Those with children are having to organise more childcare in anticipation of not being back on time.

It is becoming all too frequent hearing requests over our radio for any crew to assist as there is a cardiac arrest happening and no one available to send.

How would you feel knowing that your loved one was dying at home, and there is no one to help you? Or having to wait 45 minutes for what should be a 6-8 minute response time?

Staff who have been in the job 5 years, such as myself, are so burnt out and emotionally drained that we’re already looking to "jump ship" and find another career as we just can’t cope any more.

We are all dreading winter - summer is usually our reprieve, yet we have been on our knees all year.

More and more services are being taken away from the community and other hospitals and moved to Worcester - but they can’t even cope with what they’ve got.

As of last week, any patient with a suspected neck of femur fracture is to be conveyed to Worcester Royal - how would you like to be stuck in an ambulance after having waited 18 hours for it to arrive, for another 7 plus hours with a broken hip?

Worcestershire now has a population of approximately 605,437 with a projected increase of 3% in the next five years.

Worcestershire Royal Hospital has approximately 500 beds, and Alexandra Hospital, Redditch has approximately 300 beds. That’s roughly 756 people within Worcestershire fighting over one bed space.

Kidderminster has around 55,000 residents, and Stourport 20,000. If their hospitals could have an emergency department and 24/7 beds, that would be just over 12% of the population being diverted away from Worcestershire Royal, easing pressures.

Wychavon District has around 127,340 residents - if they had a local emergency department that would be another massive 21% receiving treatment elsewhere.

I am begging of you, please save our NHS; please educate the country to start taking responsibility and look after themselves; please provide better community care to prevent hospital admissions.

From a very tired, broken Paramedic who is desperately not wanting the system to end up privatised.

#SaveOurNHS