National media recognition for our A&E campaign
‘Our staff deserve better, and our residents deserve better,’ – our Chief Executive Matthew Trainer has spoken to BBC London’s Karl Mercer (pictured below) about why we need £35million to transform our A&E at Queen’s Hospital.
It was the third time the BBC has visited our hospital to see the impact of corridor care on our staff and patients, and this time, it was to cover the campaign we’ve launched to raise the funding we need to end it.
Matthew said:
We’re looking after more people in spaces that aren’t appropriate and I’m not proud of the fact that we now can care for up to 50 people in corridors.
I’m proud of the care we’re delivering in the circumstances, but the fact is far too many people are spending the night in places they shouldn’t be.
Staff nurse Belinda Amuah (pictured above speaking to Karl) added:
We’re doing what we love but we’re hating it because at the end of the day, you’re struggling to do your job, and the patients are also struggling.
A range of other local and national media outlets have also covered our campaign; Financial Times journalist Laura Hughes (pictured below) visited the department on Wednesday 15 January where she spoke to Matthew and some of our nurses about delivering corridor care.
Ruth Green (pictured below right), director of nursing for acute and emergency medicine, called it ‘the lesser of two evils’.
She added:
The other option is patients sit in the back of an ambulance, which means you have huge ambulance queues and people left at risk in the community. Are you better in the corridor, or lying on the floor at home with nobody with you?
Matthew was also interviewed live on Sky News (below) on Thursday 16 January about the increased pressure our staff are under, including an increase in the number of ambulances coming to our A&E. Going from 2,284 in January 2023 to 3,420 this January.
The campaign was also mentioned in the Guardian’s coverage of the winter crisis, and covered locally in the Romford Recorder, while our Chief Medical Officer, Andrew Deaner, was interviewed about it on BBC London radio.