A huge increase in the number of cases of the winter vomiting bug at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee has resulted in four wards being closed to new admissions.
Staff are said to be working ”flat out” to cope with the number of cases of norovirus and the resulting reduction in beds available, with one member of staff saying it was the busiest she had experienced in 20 years.
Wards five, six and 14 were all closed earlier this week and they have now been joined by ward three, which closed to new admissions on Thursday.
NHS Tayside chief executive Gerry Marr said the hospital had not had to cancel any procedures so far and ”extensive plans” to cope with extra demands on services were working well.
Management also appealed to the public to help prevent the spread of the bug.
A hospital source said: ”I was speaking to a nurse and she said it was the busiest she had seen it in her 20 years’ experience at the hospital. Usually the nurses have a bit of time to chat to the patients but they’re all working flat out they’re in and out like yo-yos.
”The patients aren’t seeing any nurses for any length of time. They’re being run ragged. It must be getting close to the point where they will run out of hospital beds. They have an early warning system and a few years ago they started putting people up to Perth because it was so bad.”
Mr Marr said: ”We have been experiencing an increase in the number of cases of winter vomiting virus at Ninewells Hospital which we know is common out in the community at this time of year.
”This means that the number of beds we have available to us for new admissions is reduced, but staff are working extremely hard and putting in a lot of effort to ensure all our activity here at Ninewells continues to run as smoothly as possible and we can continue to admit patients who are due to come in.
”You can understand this is a very changeable situation but we have not had to cancel any procedures at this time. Our doctors, nurses and managers are meeting several times a day to closely monitor the number of admissions and the beds we have available.
”These meetings looking at capacity are quite routine at this time of year and they act as an early indicator of any pressure points in the system. That allows us to act quickly when we identify any potential problems with bed numbers.
”Staff really are putting in a sustained effort and going that extra mile to help us cope with the reduction in bed numbers and we are extremely grateful to them.
”We’re also asking for a little help from the public and asking them to really think carefully about visiting their friends and family in our hospitals, especially if they themselves are feeling unwell and have vomiting and diarrhoea.”
Lead infection control doctor for NHS Tayside, Dr Gabby Phillips, echoed these sentiments, saying: ”You can really help us and our patients by not visiting if you yourself are feeling unwell and have vomiting and diarrhoea. If you are unwell, you must stay at home until you have had no symptoms for 48 hours.”