NHS crisis: Baby had colon operation delayed because hospital ‘didn’t have enough doctors’
Cradling her seven-month-old daughter Isabella, who is now recovering from surgery, Zsuzsanna Tandy says: “We have very mixed feelings about being in hospital.”
Isabella was born with a rare condition that affects her colon and went for an operation in Birmingham in early January.
But after she had been given the general anaesthetic, they were told the surgery couldn’t go ahead that day.
“They called us back in half an hour because they cannot proceed so we had to come back,” Ms Tandy says.
“I, as a mum, was stressed out, running back, why they cannot proceed and then finding out they didn’t have enough doctors in the house.”
On her phone, Ms Tandy has a video of her daughter waking up from the anaesthetic and a picture of her in her car seat on the way home – only to have to return for the surgery the following week.
Then, earlier this month, Isabella fell ill again and they rushed her to their local A&E in Dudley.
“Going into A&E you are stressing because what’s going wrong with your daughter who’s just had an operation?
“So we went into A&E and it’s just the constant waiting,” Ms Tandy tells Sky News.
Mum Zsuzsanna Tandy pictured with baby Isabella
Eventually she took Isabella back to Birmingham Children’s Hospital where she had another procedure and is now recovering.
She can’t praise the staff there highly enough, describing them as “absolutely brilliant”.
But her experiences of an NHS under pressure in recent weeks have left her concerned about the impact escalating strike action could have.
Someone needs to ‘step in and do something’
“I don’t blame the nurses, doctors, they do their job and they’re brilliant but they’re under stress,” Ms Tandy says.
“There’s already low staff in many wards. From other wards nurses come and help out. They do an amazing job and they work extra hours.
“If more staff go on strike, I don’t know how that’s going to work.
“Honestly, waiting long hours because there is not enough staff – somebody really should step in and do something because there are people and children stressing and suffering in hospitals”.
She believes nurses should be paid more.
“The government should really engage in every kind of talks because there are too many strikes,” she says.
If you are an NHS worker and would like to share your experiences with us anonymously, please email NHSstories@sky.uk
Earlier this week tens of thousands of NHS workers, including nurses in England and GMB union ambulance workers in England and Wales, downed tools as part of the biggest NHS strike in history.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) director for England, Patricia Marquis, called on Rishi Sunak to intervene but told Sky News there had been no “direct contact” from the prime minister.
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NHS workers took strike action in one of the biggest walkouts in the history of the health service
Junior doctors in England are “likely” to go on strike next month in a dispute over pay and conditions, a union spokesperson said.
Nurses from A&E, intensive care and cancer wards could also join colleagues on the picket line as the RCN becomes increasingly frustrated by the government’s unwillingness to negotiate.
They are set to join tens of thousands of workers including physiotherapists, teachers, university staff and civil servants as a winter of industrial action continues.
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A Department of Health spokesperson said Health Secretary Steve Barclay has been clear he wants to continue discussing with unions what is fair and affordable as part of the 2023/24 pay process.
This includes “concerns around pay, conditions and workload to find ways to make the NHS a better place to work for everyone”.
“He continues to urge unions to call off strikes and engage in a constructive dialogue about the Pay Review Body Process for the coming year,” the spokesperson said.
“Our priority is keeping patients safe.
“The NHS has tried and tested plans in place to minimise disruption and ensure emergency services continue to operate.”
A workman saved a seven-year-old boy from a burning car in the aftermath of a deadly crash caused by a suicidal ex-pilot, an inquest has heard.
The schoolboy’s rescue came following the collision on the M6, which killed former RAF man Richard Woods and four others, in October last year.
Last week a coroner ruled that Woods, 40, took his own life by deliberately driving his Skoda the wrong way down the motorway while drunk and hitting a Toyota Yaris head-on.
The driver of the Toyota, Jaroslaw Rossa, 42, was also killed, along with his two sons, Filip, 15, and Dominic, seven, and his partner Jade McEnroe, 33.
Cockermouth Coroner’s Court heard on Thursday that Ms McEnroe’s son was also in the car but survived after workman Gavin Walsh came to his rescue at the scene, which was near Tebay services in Cumbria.
In a statement to the inquest, Mr Walsh said he was a passenger in a transit van travelling to Scotland when he witnessed the crash.
He jumped out of the vehicle and used a jack to smash the rear windscreen of the Toyota and pulled the boy out of the burning vehicle.
Mr Walsh said: “We really did try, I can assure everyone we did our best. We only had minimal time.
“I saved a life that day and I hope never to witness anything like that again.”
He added that he has never stopped thinking about the boy, and said: “I hope we will meet again one day and I will give you a massive hug.”
At the time, the family were returning to Glasgow from a trip to Legoland in Windsor, Berkshire.
The inquest heard that Wood, who was travelling at a speed of at least 65mph, would have been charged with manslaughter had he survived.
Recording conclusions of unlawful killing, Cumbria assistant coroner Margaret Taylor said: “I found that Jaroslaw, Jade, Filip and Dominic died as a consequence of the unlawful acts of another driver.”
The inquest heard how Mr Woods, from Cambridgeshire, had served a distinguished 14-year career in the RAF and was a flight instructor for BAE Systems at the time of his death.
Jade McEnroe. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary
Dominic and Filip. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary
In Ms Taylor’s record of inquest, Mr Woods was said to have been experiencing “a number of stressors in his life” and had a “history of harmful use of alcohol”.
Following the crash, he was found to be nearly four times over the legal drink-drive limit and a two-thirds empty bottle of gin was found in his car.
On the day of his death, concerns had been raised over his behaviour at a work conference near Preston in Lancashire.
Mr Woods failed to return to his seat after lunch and was later spotted driving erratically and swerving across three northbound carriageway lanes on the M6.
After pulling onto the hard shoulder, he then proceeded to U-turn and drove southward on lane three.
Filip, Dominic and Jaroslaw Rossa. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary
Detective Sergeant Deborah Story, from Cumbria Police, told the inquest that Mr Woods would have been prosecuted on four counts of manslaughter had he lived.
She said hypothetical charges of murder were considered by detectives but not thought appropriate because of a lack of information that Mr Woods knew the family or anything that provided a link between them.
Ms McEnroe’s parents, Marie McEnroe and George McNellis, told the coroner they thought it was “murder”.
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A statement from the mother of Filip and Dominic, and the ex-wife of Mr Rossa, Kamila, was read out at the inquest.
She said Mr Rossa, known as Jarek, was born in Poland where they became a couple and went on to have three boys.
He loved playing computer games and had “lots of friends”, she said, and worked at the Wagamama restaurant in Silverburn, Glasgow.
She said she was “devastated” over the deaths, adding: “Our lives will never be the same.
“I am heartbroken at the passing of my beloved angels Filip and Dominic.”
Marie McEnroe said her daughter, a spa therapist, had been in a relationship with Mr Rossa for about two-and-a-half years.
She said Jade had been a “brilliant mother” to her only child, was “really happy” with Mr Rossa and it was “lovely chaos” when all the boys were playing together.
Ms McEnroe added: “Life changed forever that day”.
Ms Taylor praised the “selfless acts of bravery” from those in the aftermath of the collision, including Mr Walsh, who she said went towards the burning car “without hesitation for his own safety”.
The coroner added: “Without his swift response, Jade’s child would also have perished.”
Addressing the bereaved family members, she said: “Your loss is unimaginable but you have conducted yourself with dignity and I thank you for that. I wish you strength for the future.”
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
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