ITV News visits Queen Elizabeth Hospital ED
LGT hosted the ITV News team yesterday (Tuesday 9 January) at Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) as we came out of the longest running period of strike action in NHS history.
They took an in-depth look at the impact on patients and colleagues, meeting lots of our patients and talking to several of our colleagues who shared a collective feeling of relief, having been through the last six days, but highlighted the very genuine focus we have maintained on patient safety throughout.
The ITV News team interviewed Ben Travis, Chief Executive, Vanessa Purday, Chief Medical Officer, Fred Ohanusi, Emergency Department Consultant. They also spoke to Victoria Pitfield, Junior Doctor. who gave an impassioned interview about why she had chosen to strike.
Ben Travis, Chief Executive, said: “This was the longest strike in NHS history, planned to coincide with our busiest time of year. We’ve got through this week, but the NHS is a 24/7 operation and the patient and colleague impact of six days of continuous action will be felt for weeks and months to come. Recovery starts now and the hard work doesn’t stop now this strike has finished. Patient safety is - and always will be - our top priority at LGT. Thank you to all our colleagues; you cannot work any harder.”
Many thanks to our wonderful team in the QEH ED for accommodating the ITV crew. We know that it is a huge ask on top of everything else that you are doing to keep patients safe and cared for, but it was a great opportunity to talk about the impact that strikes have on our hospitals, our patients and our colleagues in a balanced way. We were very grateful that you were willing to work around us.
- A short piece by Rebecca Barry, ITV News Health Correspondent, was included in the lunchtime news
- The full feature was then shown on the 6.30pm and 10pm ITV News last night. Watch it here.
Pictured: Rebecca Barry, ITV News Health Correspondent interviewing Fred Ohanusi, Emergency Department Consultant > Vanessa Purday, Chief Medical Officer > Victoria Pitfield, Junior Doctor.
