Dr Guddi Singh reveals Anxiety in NHS during COVID-19

Dr Guddi Singh has revealed that there is huge anxiety in the NHS over Coronavirus and the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

She is a paediatrician but due to the ongoing pandemic, Dr Singh has had to help adults who are sick with the virus.

Dr Singh said that the NHS is about to be flooded with COVID-19 patients.

The UK government has said that it is increasing capacity for extra patients and placing orders for more PPE items.

However, Dr Singh has revealed that high-level mistakes could result in disaster in the UK.

The London-based doctor told BBC News that she is one of the “lucky ones” because she had not faced any cases that were as serious as the ones her colleagues have faced.

Dr Singh explained: “In this hospital, the sickest children who are in paediatric intensive care are being moved to another hospital in order to make space for adult COVID-19 patients and we’re being asked to suspend normal life to be on call on a military-style rota.”

She went on to say that this has led to a huge amount of anxiety within the NHS.

“Now, there’s a huge amount of anxiety amongst my colleagues right across the country for many reasons.

“The NHS is about to be flooded with a tsunami of really sick COVID-19 patients that we do not have the capacity to deal with and there’s still a huge amount of confusion around the use and availability of PPEs.”

Dr Guddi Singh then read a number of comments that she received from colleagues treating adult patients.

One comment read: “I feel lost and vulnerable. The hospitals in London are overwhelmed, there is still a serious shortage of PPEs.

“We’ve just been told to close our eyes when any patient coughs, we feel completely helpless.”

Another comment said: “Forget lockdown, the NHS is going into meltdown.”

Dr Singh explained that all measures are being taken to ensure that it is safe for both patients and staff members. However, she heard that there is a lack of guidance from higher-level members of the NHS.

“Fragmentation in the NHS is making it virtually impossible to have a strong, coordinated response to this crisis and if we do get sick as a result of that and through inadequate protection then we are leaving this service open to being even more overwhelmed.

“My heart swells with pride to work in the NHS, my colleagues go above and beyond to the people of this country every single day.”

Dr Singh pledged that she and her colleagues would continue to help over the coming weeks but felt that they were paying the price for failures elsewhere.