Black Country hospital chief has 'never seen anything like' current pressures on the NHS
A health chief who has been in the NHS for more than 40 years has said he has never seen "anything like" the current pressures on the service.
Sir David Nicholson KCB CBE, chairman of the Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, made the remark at a board meeting on Wednesday.
And he said the trust – which runs Sandwell General Hospital and Birmingham City Hospital – owed an "enormous" debt of gratitude to staff.
It comes as pressures mount on the service across the region due to ongoing strikes and a surge of people being admitted with flu and Covid-19.
Sir Nicholson said: "I'm getting tired of people saying 'we're living in unprecedented times and suffering from unprecedented challenges', but it's true. I don't think many of this board who have had anything to do with the NHS – and I'm coming up to 45 years – have seen anything like this.
"On behalf of the board, we owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the staff of our organisation who have worked heroically over the last few months, let alone the last few days, and I would add into that the executive team of the board – not only dealing with the operational pressures but also continuing to improve our organisation. Thanks to everyone for doing that."
The health chief added the organisation had worked together with West Midlands Ambulance Service, and ambulance workers, to "mitigate" the impact on patients amid the latest round of strike action on Wednesday.
"I think it's incumbent on the Government to get people together to solve this problem," Sir Nicholson said. "All power to the Government and the staff getting together to solve this problem as well, as well as in other sectors, in terms of pay. It's really important for the benefit of patients."
