Military personnel and students could cover hospital staff sickness
Military personnel and medical students could be stepping in to work on hospital wards after staff sickness jumped fourfold in three weeks, it has been revealed.
The call for more carers comes as two nearly thirds of hospital beds in Sandwell and West Birmingham are now occupied by Covid patients.
Dr David Carruthers, SWBH’s Medical Director, in a report to the trust’s board warned: “Sickness, both Covid and non-Covid, has increased within the nursing workforce and it has been difficult to maintain the usual staffing ratios of 1-6/1-8 across the inpatient areas.”
The growing numbers reporting ill comes as 427 coronavirus patients were treated during January, taking up almost 60 per cent of general beds.
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Health bosses have increased intensive care capacity but admit this is adding to pressures on staff.
Workers from within the hospitals have been retrained and redeployed to cover intensive therapy units, while PPE protection in ‘amber’ areas has been ramped up to prevent nurses and doctors from becoming ill.
In his report to the board, Dr Carruthers continued: “This is based on our current risk assessment, high staff sickness (nine per cent) with a fourfold increase in staff sickness due to Covid in the last three weeks adding to the huge staffing pressures on the wards.”
Third-year student nurses are expected to begin work this month at the Sandwell General and City hospitals’ sites.
Saying military personnel could be used, the medical director added: “We have 26 paramedic students joining the organisation for 12-week placement from February.
“Forty-five medical students applied to work with the Trust, and we are currently progressing recruitment of these staff.
“We are working … to progress deployment of military personnel as runners to support our inpatient wards.”
The report will be discussed at the trust’s board meeting tomorrow Thursday 4.
