A whistleblower believes failings at Weston General Hospital may have led to the spike in Covid-19 cases which forced it to close to admissions.
The hospital in Weston-super-Mare stopped accepting patients on May 25, even at its A&E, after 64 patients tested positive for coronavirus.
Hospital bosses said on May 28 it would be shut to new patients for "at least a week, possibly longer", before revealing around six per cent of 1,700 staff were asymptomatic and infected.
Now a Weston General whistleblower has told Bristol Live of serious concerns about the hospital’s infection control, guidance on personal protective equipment (PPE) and treatment of BAME staff.
University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, which manages the hospital, has provided a statement in response to the whistleblower's claims.
The whistleblower said: “We initially had few cases. There were only around 22 coronavirus patients on May 10."
The senior employee was worried about a system he claims was introduced from around April 14.
He said: “The hospital was divided into two layers. The second floor was coronavirus only, and the first floor was for non-coronavirus patients.
“The management decided to split the junior doctors into two groups. One would cover the first floor and the other group the second floor.
“The problem was they rotated the teams every week. At the end of each week the junior doctors from the coronavirus ward would be moved to the non-coronavirus ward, and vice versa.
“I felt this was not the right practice. I believe this may have been a factor in how the virus spread through the hospital.”
BAME staff 'put at risk'
The staff member claims a disproportionate number of ethnic minority staff have been put on Covid-19 wards at Weston General.
"Before the spike, no white consultants were put on the coronavirus ward rota, only BAME consultants and locums,” he added.
“The group making the rota never ever, not on one single occasion, put themselves on the rota. The BAME consultants were discriminated against, and put at risk."
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The whistleblower also revealed concerns over how PPE was allegedly used before the spike in May.
"We had an email from Public Health England saying we should be using the more effective face masks with a latex seal over the mouth, rather than the string masks, when patients were coughing and sneezing,” he said.
“But the instruction from the hospital was that if 'possibles' had not been confirmed as coronavirus cases, we were not to wear the sealed masks. I believe this was wrong.
“There were possible coronavirus cases where both staff and patients were not using the more effective masks.”
The trust's statement
Carolyn Mills, chief nurse at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, said in response to the whistleblower's claims: “The Trust is continuously focused on ensuring the safety of its patients and staff.
“Appropriate levels of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) are available and this is being used in line with Public Health England guidance. In addition, there have been significant efforts to minimise unnecessary staff movements across the hospital.
“We are continuing to work with our partners to fully understand the complex and emerging situation in North Somerset and any possible patterns of COVID-19 transmission.
“Staff are encouraged to raise any concerns they may have, and the Trust has processes in place to enable them to do this either in confidence, directly with their line manager or via a number of other personnel. Listening to our staff enables the Trust to respond to issues or concerns and take appropriate action.”
Calls for 'urgent improvements'
The whistleblower's claims come after Unison criticised the University Hospitals Bristol and Weston (UHBW) trust over its running of the hospital.
Last week the trade union said the trust needed to make “urgent improvements” to communication.
It also voiced concerns over ethnic minority workers allegedly not being prioritised for testing, despite evidence they face a higher mortality rate.
And UHBW has come under fire for failing to say how many patients have died with coronavirus at Weston General.
North Somerset has become the West of England’s epicentre for coronavirus deaths, the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data suggests.
The stats – which break down deaths across hospitals, care homes and other settings – show there were 40 Covid-19 deaths in North Somerset during the first two weeks of May.
That figure is higher than in any other part of the region, including the 37 deaths which happened in Bristol.
There were 24 coronavirus deaths in North Somerset – 12 in hospital and 12 in care homes – from the week to May 15.
It means the area is one of just 18 across the country which have seen their highest Covid-19 death figures in the latest recorded week.
