A doctor has asserted that overcrowded hospitals in the United Kingdom are worse than those in Ukraine, and staff members are at their wits’ end.
Paul Ransom works part-time for the NHS in Sussex, but he also reacts to natural disasters overseas and teaches medical skills in war-torn regions.
In a letter to his local newspaper, The Argus, he wrote: ‘Sometimes I feel guilty when I witness my NHS colleagues attempting to keep patients safe and sometimes even keep them alive in conditions that are worse than what I observe in many foreign hospitals where I work.
“In Ukraine, Georgia, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, and many other places where I have worked, I very rarely see corridors overflowing with patients waiting for a cubicle, with nursing and medical staff at a loss as to how to select the most critical patients to bring into a resuscitation room doubling up on beds.”
Paul Ransom works part-time for the NHS in Sussex, but he also reacts to natural disasters overseas and teaches medical skills in war-torn regions. During the recent month’s strikes, ambulances could be seen waiting outside the Waterloo Ambulance Station.
No other European country would subject patients to similar conditions.
When I am deployed overseas and reading my WhatsApps from Brighton, it seems to me that our humanitarian efforts should be redirected to the corridors of UK hospitals, such as our own in Sussex, rather than to nations in turmoil.
Dr. Ransom, a former employee of the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath, was awarded an OBE for his efforts in international healthcare. He has responded to crises including the 2010 Haitian earthquake and taught medical skills in war-torn Ukraine.
Dr. Ransom emphasized that he had no intention of blaming or shaming hospital administration.
He stated, “Sometimes, when I am deployed overseas and reading my WhatsApps from Brighton, it seems to me that we ought to refocus our humanitarian efforts on the corridors of British hospitals, such as our own in Sussex, rather than in conflict zones abroad.”
On December 30, NHS Sussex declared a critical incident due to increased demand for A&E services and calls to 111 and 999. The alert has been since cancelled.
Dr. George Findlay, of University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, remarked, “Our staff are doing a phenomenal job in extremely difficult circumstances, and I would like to express my profound gratitude for all they are doing to care for patients and each other during this challenging time.”
We recognize that the current setting of the A&E department in Brighton is not optimal, which is why we are aiming to expand the available space following the inauguration of the Louisa Martindale Building on the County site this year.