Opinion

Testing of healthcare staff must be addressed

The designation of Belfast City Hospital as the north's first 'Nightingale' facility marks a significant step forward in our local health service's preparations for the expected upsurge in coronavirus cases.

The tower block will become a 230-bed regional unit which will be staffed by doctors and nurses from across Northern Ireland.

Crucially, it will provide a sharp increase in the number of beds with ventilators which will be needed by seriously ill patients experiencing breathing difficulties.

Currently, 70 Covid-19 patients are being treated at the Mater Hospital in Belfast while additional critical care capacity is planned for Altnagelvin in Derry and the Ulster Hospital in Dundonald.

There is no doubt the reconfiguration of the City Hospital in such a short space of time has been a huge task for the health authorities but will be absolutely essential if we are to cope with the peak of this outbreak, which is expected to hit the north between April 6-20.

Modelling suggests during this period around 180 patients could require ventilation with 500 hospital admissions per week.

While it is imperative that we have enough ventilators and any other relevant equipment during the peak, it is equally vital that our hospitals and intensive care units are fully staffed for the surge in patients.

However, yesterday it was revealed that the Belfast trust is down 10 per cent of its workforce due to coronavirus precautions.

Cathy Jack from Belfast Health and Social Care Trust told the Stormont health committee that 1,200 staff are self-isolating because of a family member while 791 staff are isolating because they have symptoms of coronavirus.

Dr Jack said the trust wants to be able to test the 1,200 staff who feel well to allow them to come back to work if they do not test positive for Covid-19.

Pharmacies, which are also under immense pressure, have also been badly affected with a third of staff in isolation.

These figures underline the importance of testing healthcare employees to ensure that those who can work are able to do so.

Testing is just one part of the equation. We must also supply the necessary personal protective equipment to allow staff to perform their life-saving work without themselves being put at risk from this deadly virus.

And of course the rest of us can play our part by staying at home, keeping our distance and easing the burden on the health service at this critical time.