We were delighted to welcome Evan Davis, presenter of BBC Radio 4’s PM programme, to our Emergency Department (ED) at Queen’s Hospital to hear how we’re working hard to keep patients safe despite the ongoing pressure on the local healthcare system.

Evan was given a tour of the department by Ruth Green, Lead Nurse for Emergency Medicine, and Karim Ahmad, Director of Emergency Care (Medical), for the piece which aired on Monday 01 August (pictured above).

During his visit Evan spoke to colleagues including Ben Evans, Assistant Director of Operations for the London Ambulance Service (LAS), and our Chief Executive, Matthew Trainer, who explained: “what happens in ED is symptomatic of what’s going on in the wider community” and talked about the continuing impact of the pandemic on our services.

He heard how we’re working closely with our partners, including LAS, to improve care for our patients, such as our Ambulance Receiving Centre (ARC), where patients are brought into ED by paramedics for initial assessment and decisions on what treatment is needed.

Evan also met grateful patients who were full of praise for our staff.

While the morning Radio 4 visited was relatively quiet, staff explained how they are experiencing high demand on our services, including a recent weekend which was one of the busiest we’ve seen, something we’d usually experience during the winter months.

You can listen to the programme online.