A British doctor has issued a warning that because of the extreme overcrowding in UK hospitals, the National Health Services (NHS) in countries with weak medical infrastructure, such as war-torn Ukraine, suffer from far worse conditions.
Dr Paul Ransom works part-time with the UK hospital and also carries out humanitarian work overseas. In a letter to UK Newspaper The Argus, he described that Hospitals in Sussex, like the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, had overflowing corridors and staff who were “at their wits’ end”.
Dr Ransom said, “Sometimes I feel guilty at seeing my NHS colleagues trying to keep patients safe and sometimes even keep them alive in conditions that are worse than those I see in many hospitals I work overseas.”
“I have worked in many places like Ukraine, Georgia, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe but very rarely saw corridors overflowing with patients waiting for a cubicle”, he added.
Dr Ransom expressed that no other European country would expose patients to these conditions. “Sometimes when I read messages from Brighton when I am overseas, it seems to me that we should be offering our services to the UK hospitals”, he added.
Dr Ransom said that he did not want to blame the hospital management and the UK government is responsible for the current chaos at the hospitals across the country.
In his letter, he recommended suggestions like to set up temporary medical infrastructure as it was done during Covid. In addition, the government should also enhance staffing levels, raise staff salaries, and use temporary facilities.