The NHS hospital is not backlogged and is treating more patients than before Covid

Health

IT felt like a war zone during the pandemic as doctors and nurses fought to save the sick and dying rushed in for treatment in what was once a Covid hotspot.

Hospitals across the country are still feeling the pressure, and new figures released this week show that there were 7.2 million people waiting for surgery in October.

Millions of people are still waiting for the NHS backlog to be cleared, and Thursday's nurses' strike could see up to 15,000 operations canceledCredit: Alamy

But one hospital in London has bucked the trend, with one patient describing it as a 'five-star hospital'Credit: Olivia West

Senior surgeon Stella Vig admits the height of the pandemic was terrifyingCredit: Olivia West

And on Thursday, the nurses' strike could lead to up to 15,000 operations being canceled, with 100,000 nurses expected to take action across 76 hospitals and NHS organisations.

But one hospital has bucked the trend. Croydon University Hospital in south London is not behind and is now carrying out 300 operations a week, an increase of 11 per cent on the 270 it was carrying out before the pandemic.

A major restructuring at the height of Covid, which created a hospital within a hospital, was such a success that they managed to maintain it even after the pandemic.

When The Sun visited this week, one patient, mother of four Lilian Abemere, 41, described it as a “five-star hospital”.

She said: “I imagine it's akin to going private. Even the food is good. I never expected the treatment and attention I receive here.”

Staff there have cared for more than 30,000 patients requiring surgery since July 2020.

This includes more than 3,000 referred from neighboring hospitals to reduce the wait for scheduled care or treatment.

Personnel content

The hospital has been in the top five Trusts nationally for treatment referrals since September.

In line with expected NHS standards, the vast majority of patients – 80.6 percent – are seen within 18 weeks.

And in Croydon, no patients wait longer than 78 weeks for treatment, while across the country the wait can be more than two years.

Their staff will not join nurses who will strike across the country later this month over pay.

Senior surgeon Stella Vig told us: “Covid has been terrible, but it has given us opportunities because we are so much more efficient now. I would never go back to the way things were before.”

The pandemic caused paralysis of the healthcare system, with more Covid patients flooding into hospitals than staff could handle.

Surgeries, including life-saving cancer treatments, were canceled or postponed.

And the backlog continues to have a knock-on effect, with the number on the NHS waiting list rising by 100,000 in the past month alone.

Croydon was able to return to normal as the main building, on a 40-acre site in Thornton Heath, was split in two.

This created a separation between the theaters, or operating rooms, used for elective, pre-planned surgeries, and the theaters or operating rooms used for everything else.

The top floor became a hospital within a hospital, where staff and patients were rigorously tested for Covid – undergoing PCR tests and having their temperatures checked – before being allowed inside.

Since July 2020, only 20 patients have tested positive for Covid at the restricted-access hospital.

NHS executives visited in August to see if the new model could be rolled out across Britain and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke to staff in October.

He later told The Sun on Sunday: “Tackling the NHS Covid backlog is one of my top priorities and last month I saw first-hand how Croydon Hospital is leading the way. . . I want their success to become a blueprint for the whole NHS.”

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke to staff in OctoberCredit: No. 10 Downing Street

Croydon Hospital managed to avoid the backlog by creating a Covid-free zone for elective surgeriesCredit: Olivia West

From left to right: Paula Joyner, Talitha McDonald, Marianne Pitallano, Stella Vig and Jijeesh Marotikunnath, from the medical teamCredit: Olivia West

Stella said: “As a surgeon I can come in and continue with my work. I would never go back to the way it was.

“I used to start my theater list and there are no beds. I went downstairs, examined my patients on the ward and found two that I could convince to go home so I could start at the top of my theater list.

“Then I started my list late and everyone had to work late, around 7:30 p.m., so we could finish it. And that's not easy when you have to pay for childcare.

“Now when you walk down the corridor you see how peaceful and calm it is because this is the elective center and you only come in if you are having an operation.”

Stella admits the height of Covid was terrifying.

She told us: “In March 2020, almost two-thirds of our beds were filled with Covid patients.

“The intensive care unit was overwhelmed. It was harrowing. We worried about whether we or our friends and family would get Covid.

“Colleagues left home because they had vulnerable relatives and stayed in a hotel across the road for three months.

“I remember leaving work one night and seeing people clapping for the first time. I cried all the way home.

“But we had people who had not been able to have a vital operation for six months, so we had to move on.

“Initially we came up with a lot of rash ideas that would never have worked.

“The original conversation was to have a surgery center in another hospital. But many people in Croydon cannot afford to travel.

“So we decided to put in a new door and create a separate hospital on the second floor, with strict protocols about testing.

“Within eight weeks we were able to do what we were used to again, while the rest of the country stood still.

“We received permission to restructure at the end of May 2020 and we were live in July.

“Thanks to the redesign, we now have four emergency centers downstairs.

“We now only have nine operating rooms for elective surgeries, two fewer than before, but we are performing more surgeries, which is a credit to this team.”

Chief Clinical Physician Jijeesh Marotikunnath added: “The hospital felt like a war zone during the pandemic. Death became a common occurrence and people panicked.”

“One day we would treat a patient and the next day they would die – and we didn't understand why they were dying so quickly.

“There was a waiting list of two million across the country, which continued to rise. We were a Covid hotspot because Croydon had so many cases, but we knew we had to clear the backlog.”

The scene is noticeably different today and a Sun on Sunday reporter noted the calm atmosphere in the clean wards of the restricted access area.

With Covid numbers falling and testing rules being relaxed, there are no plans to go back to the old system.

Senior nurse Talitha McDonald is among those who will not strike.

She said: Our staff come in during the rail and bus strikes, if they have to walk they go to work. It was the same during the pandemic.

“You want to take care of patients and do your best. That's what you sign up for, to take care of people.”