• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

News and entertainment worth sharing – York and North Yorkshire

  • News
  • Things to do
  • Radio
  • Vouchers
  • Categories
    • Business
  • More
    • Comments
    • Advertise
    • Contact us
City Cruises York

Sick people decline hospital treatment to avoid ‘traumatising’ 30-hour A&E waits

York Hospital A&E and (inset) Dr Helena Ebbs. Photographs: YorkMix / Vale of York CCG
Friday 1 April, 2022 @ 11.43 am Health, News Joe Cooper - Local Democracy Reporter
Share via...

Sick people are declining treatment because they do not want to face the “traumatising” conditions in hospital emergency departments, according to a Yorkshire GP.

Dr Helena Ebbs, a GP partner in Pickering, said she knew of patients who were effectively shortening their lives rather than facing waiting on trolleys for 18 hours.

The stark comments were made at the final meeting of the Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) governing body, who organise the delivery of health services in the region.

The emergency departments in York and Scarborough are now seeing an “unprecedented” number of people waiting more than 12 hours on trolleys, according to executive director of quality and nursing Michelle Carrington, with some lasting as long as 30 hours.

The CCG governors met the day after the board of the York and Scarborough Hospitals NHS Trust, where health chiefs heard the “fundamental basics” of care were being affected by staff shortages. 

Dr Helena Ebbs, a GP partner in Pickering, said she knew of patients who did not want to go to hospital, including one with heart failure. 

YorkMix - advertise with us
YorkMix - advertise with us
YorkMix - advertise with us
YorkMix #ad

She said: “Pre-vaccination, they absolutely would not have wanted to go to hospital for fear of catching Covid. Now, because they have two or three admissions, their reason for not wanting to go to hospital is because they can’t bear the thought of being on a trolley in A&E for 18 hours.

“People are making choices not to receive care, which is shortening their lives – effectively choosing to take end of life care rather than go through something that they find so deeply traumatising.”

Unannounced visit

An ambulance outside York Hospital A&E. Photograph: YorkMix

Ambulance handover times at York Hospital are also an outlier compared to elsewhere in the region, though other pressures are reflected nationally across the health service.

Strict Covid infection control measures mean around 150 beds in York and 50 in Scarborough are closed and the trust has more Covid patients in hospital than ever before, with more than half testing positive after arriving.

Trending

  1. ‘Enough is enough!’ Up to 350 bus trips a day to run along one York street
  2. Parched York: 19 photographs that show how drought has changed the city
  3. Updated: Sudden death on Coney Street in York

Hospital bosses have been hoping for new national guidance to allow them more flexibility in dealing with the pandemic in their buildings.

The Care Quality Commission made an unannounced visit to the emergency departments at York and Scarborough this week, likely because of data which shows they are “struggling”, Ms Carrington said.

Phil Mettam, accountable officer at the CCG, said staff being off with Covid or caring for people with Covid were putting huge pressure on the NHS trust.

He said: “As an organisation they’ve been at their highest escalation level for I can’t remember how many weeks now – that used to be an exception but in recent weeks it’s become the norm.

“It’s just an indication of the pressure across all of the system – general practice and primary care is seeing the same.”

It was the last meeting of the CCG governing body as NHS reorganisation means the new Humber, Coast and Vale Integrated Care System will take over in the summer.

ICSs are partnerships that bring together providers and commissioners to plan NHS health and care services.

Footer

YorkMix
News 01904 848 766
Email YorkMix news »
5-6 King's Court, Shambles, York  YO1 7LD
YorkMix Radio
General enquiries 01904 375 029
Studio/competitions 01904 375 030
Email YorkMix Radio »
Selby Superbowl, Bawtry Road, Selby  YO8 8NA
YorkMix is a trading name of YorkMix Media Ltd
Registered in England
Company number: 07814727
VAT number: 154 0364 34
© York Sound Ltd

Copyright © 2022 YorkMix Media Ltd

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT