Hospital chief concerned about shortage of beds

Roland Sinker, chief executive of Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge has said he was the most concerned he has ever been about the lack of beds approaching winter, adding that “mounting pressure” and caused a “fragile” situation.

Mr Sinker said the number of beds had been reduced by 62 due to distancing and more were being taken out of action in order to prevent the spread of infection.

He added that the hospital was also dealing with attendances at its emergency department being above pre-pandemic levels and a surgery backlog, and said that covid infection among staff and isolation levels were also creating a challenge for the hospital as it was reducing staff numbers in an unpredictable way.

He said “This winter, the line between success and failure is much narrower than before.”

He praised staff for their “resilience” during the pandemic and said he was “immensely grateful”, adding that Cambridge University Hospitals, the trust that runs Addenbrooke’s and The Rosie Hospital, was being supported by NHS England and NHS Improvement to open additional beds.

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Posted by Tony May, Partner/head of Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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