NHS crisis: Families say loved ones are dying on trollies in overcrowded hospital corridors
Patients are dying and staff are broken – as workers say it doesn’t get much grimmer than this.
The human toll at the sharp end of the worst health crisis in Scotland’s NHS history continues to escalate to dangerous levels.
Families, who have lost loved ones on trollies in overcrowded hospital corridors, have told Sky News that it is like a “disaster zone” where staff are fighting a losing battle and the ill are treated like “animals”.
It is estimated that between 40 and 60 lives are being lost every week as a direct result of this emergency.
Stuart Craig and his mother Noreen
Lung cancer patient, Noreen Craig, 71, was taken to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow after becoming ill with a chest infection at her Gorbals home in December.
On arrival, her loved ones say she was put on a trolley in a side room because there were no beds available. She died hours later without making it to a ward.
‘Animals would be treated better’
Her son Stuart Craig told Sky News: “It was like a disaster zone.
“I actually felt sorry for the nurses, what they had to deal with. There were ambulances everywhere. It was carnage.”
He said: “I think my mum would have still been alive if she was given the help we were promised, if she was taken to a proper ward.
“Animals would be treated better than the help and care she received.”
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has since apologised to the family.
If you are an NHS worker and would like to share your experiences with us anonymously, please email NHSstories@sky.uk
Stuart Craig
Unlike some matters, the SNP-led Scottish government is wholly responsible for the devolved health service.
Nicola Sturgeon‘s administration has been in power for 15 years.
Opposition politicians say her government has lost its grip and fallen asleep at the wheel.
These are claims she strongly refutes as she points to the thousands of extra NHS staff hired in that time.
Amid the current situation, the first minister is accused of pointing the finger of blame at patients for turning up at hospitals unnecessarily.
But critics suggest this mess has been years in the making with hospital “exit blocks” being the fundamental issue – not A&E attendances.
A record number of beds are being taken up by people who no longer need to be in the wards because social care places are not ready for the next step in their recovery.
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Health authorities suspend non-urgent operations due to A&E crisis
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Almost every single performance indicator within Scotland’s emergency departments has been flashing red for a long while.
Targets for waiting times are constantly breached, with a record number of patients waiting more than 12 hours to be seen.
‘People more aggressive on the phone’
GP surgeries are also bearing the brunt of this pressure cooker situation.
One Glasgow surgery I visited is dealing with 80 emergency appointments a day compared to 16 a few years ago.
Practice managers say people are more aggressive and desperate when they phone.
One GP said the number of emergency consultations had gone up from around 16 to 18 per day to around 80.
Dr John Montgomery, who has been a doctor for more than 30 years, told Sky News: “This is the highest level of activity in general practice in Glasgow ever recorded.
Dr John Montgomery
“The reality is that people will die. There is no question about that.
“This is not a safe, sustainable situation.”
Everyone agrees this is not safe or sustainable. There are questions about what the National Health Service may look like when the worst of the crisis eases.
Higher earners in Scotland pay more tax in their pay packets compared to the rest of the UK.
Money that Scottish ministers say will go directly to the NHS. But some Scots see a beleaguered system no better than other nations across the country.
A man has been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter in connection with the ship collision in the North Sea.
Humberside Police said the 59-year-old is in custody to allow enquiries to take place, and officers are talking to those involved to find out what happened.
The force added investigators have started a criminal probe into the cause of the collision between the Stena Immaculate and Solong off the coast of East Yorkshire on Monday, and are working with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
Ernst Russ, the owner of Solong, later confirmed the man detained was the ship’s captain. The shipping firm called him “the master of the ship” – which is understood to be the same as a captain.
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Sky News above North Sea ship collision
One person remains missing and is presumed dead after emergency services stopped their search on Monday evening.
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch is also involved in early work to determine what caused the two vessels to collide.
Read more: What we know about the collision
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Map shows moment of collision in North Sea
Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Chief Superintendent Craig Nicholson, said: “Humberside Police have taken primacy for the investigation of any potential criminal offences which arise from the collision between the two vessels.
“Extensive work has already been carried out, and we are working closely with our partners to understand what happened, and to provide support to all of those affected.
“Following enquiries undertaken by my team, we have arrested a 59-year-old man on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter in connection with the collision, this follows the conclusion of search operations by HM Coastguard for the missing crew member of the SOLONG.”
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North Sea: Sailor presumed dead
He added: “Our thoughts are with the family of the missing crew member, and I have appointed family liaison officers to make contact and provide support to the family.
“The man arrested remains in custody at this time whilst enquiries are under way, and we continue speaking with all those involved to establish the full circumstances of the incident.”
Ernst Russ added in a later statement that it could confirm the master of the Solong “has been detained by Humberside Police in the UK”.
“The master and our entire team are actively assisting with the investigations,” the shipping firm said.
“Out of respect for the investigation and all involved we will not comment further at this time.”
Read more:
Oil tanker collision could have lethal ecological impact
Sky News above North Sea ship collision
HM Coastguard said in an update that the Solong is still alight
US tanker Stena Immaculate was anchored off the coast of East Yorkshire when the Solong crashed into it at around 9.45am on Monday.
Some 36 people were brought safely to the shore, but one person was reported missing from the cargo ship.
At least one tank of Jet-A1 fuel onboard the Stena Immaculate was ruptured, its operator said
At around 11.20pm, the Solong started to drift southwards away from the crash site. HM Coastguard said in an update earlier on Tuesday that the ship is still alight.
Tugboats are in the vicinity to ensure it remains away from the coast
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the container ship is expected to stay afloat, after a minister told parliament that it could sink earlier in the day.
She said she met with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s chief executive Virginia McVea, and was “pleased to have been informed that early indications suggest that both vessels are now expected to stay afloat”.
Ernst Russ also denied reports the vessel was carrying sodium cyanide and said: “There are four empty containers that have previously contained the hazardous chemical.
“These containers will continue to be monitored.”
Stena Immaculate was carrying 220,000 barrels of Jet-A1 fuel in 16 tanks, at least one of which was ruptured, its operator also said.
UK
Triple killer Kyle Clifford will serve whole-life sentence for murdering BBC commentator’s family
Triple killer Kyle Clifford has been handed a whole-life sentence for murdering his ex-girlfriend, her mother and her sister.
Warning: This article contains distressing details.
The sentence imposed by Mr Justice Bennathan means he will never be released.
The former soldier, 26, admitted murdering BBC racing commentator John Hunt’s wife Carol Hunt, 61, and their daughters Louise, 25, and Hannah, 28.
He also pleaded guilty to false imprisonment of his former partner Louise, as well as possession of the crossbow used to kill her and her sister, and the 10-inch butcher’s knife he stabbed their mother to death with.
Louise Hunt
Pic: Facebook
Clifford denied raping Louise, who had broken up with him 13 days before the four-hour attack in the Hunt family home on 9 July last year.
But he was found guilty by a jury last week after a trial at Cambridge Crown Court, which he refused to attend, prompting police and prosecutors to brand him a “coward”.
The judge paid tribute “to the astonishing dignity and courage” of the victims’ family, including John Hunt and his surviving daughter Amy, who hugged after the sentence.
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Footage shows Clifford fleeing the Hunt family home
They, along with Hannah’s partner Alex Klein, had read emotional victim impact statements in court as Mr Hunt said hell would roll out the “red carpet” for him.
He said the evidence showed Clifford “to be a jealous man, soaked in self-pity – a man who holds women in utter contempt”.
The court heard Clifford, from Enfield, north London, began planning the murders after Louise ended their 18-month relationship in a message on 26 June.
Carol Hunt pictured with her husband John Hunt.
Pic: Facebook
He tricked his way inside before stabbing her mother to death in what prosecutors said was a “brutal knife attack”, then lay in wait for an hour for Louise to enter the house.
Clifford held her for more than two hours, as he restrained her with duct tape and raped her, then shot her through the chest with a crossbow moments before her sister Hannah got home and was also killed.
He fled the scene and shot himself with the weapon as armed police descended and is now paralysed from the chest down.
The recovered crossbow.
Pic: Hertfordshire Police
The 10-inch butcher’s knife Clifford used was never found but police released an image of the packaging.
Pic: PA
The judge told Clifford, who didn’t attend his sentencing hearing, he went to the Hunt family home to launch “a murderous attack” on his ex-girlfriend’s family.
“You first killed her mother Carol, who even on that day showed you nothing but kindness in the moments before you attacked her,” he said.
“You raped and killed Louise who had been as gentle as she could in ending her relationship with you, after your arrogance and anger proved too much for her to stand.
“Then you murdered Hannah Hunt, who had done nothing to harm you save supporting her little sister.”
The jury wasn’t told Clifford had searched for Andrew Tate’s podcast less than 24 hours before the murders.
Prosecutor Alison Morgan KC said “it is no coincidence” he turned to the “poster boy for misogynists – a poster boy for those who view women as possession to be controlled” the night before committing such “acts of violence against women”.
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