Coronavirus doctor's diary: Making rapid life-and-death decisions
In his first diary for the BBC, published on Monday 30 March, Dr John Wright of Bradford Royal Infirmary reported on his hospital's preparations for the coronavirus storm. In the last few days, the storm has begun, putting all involved under great strain.Not that long ago the hospital had just a few Covid-positive patients, isolated inside rooms. By the start of this week we had two full wards designated as"red" or infectious zones. And two more turned red a day later.
We are used to people dying in hospital, because it's often a place where people die. But normally we are reflective in our practice, we give time, and time is a great instrument for us in health care. But in the hospital today we are making rapid decisions about life and death - decisions about ventilation, about escalation care and when to make the decision about end of-life-care.
Many of us have got parents, and we may worry that these decisions like these are going to be taken on the basis of the patient's age.Hospital staff have been training for redeployment to intensive care wards
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