Hospital worker accuses trust of putting Ross Kemp documentary before NHS staff

A ‘high risk’ hospital worker has accused the Milton Keynes Hospital Trust of putting Ross Kemp’s ITV documentary before the health and safety of its NHS staff.

The former soap star’s two-part documentary, which will begin tonight (Thursday), will explore the challenges NHS staff are facing as they continue to battle the outbreak of coronavirus.

The actor came under fire from fans after he announced he would be going into an intensive care unit at Milton Keynes University Hospital to document how doctors and nurses are working relentlessly against Covid-19.

Following the news of the programme, Ross Kemp: On The NHS Frontline, a staff member who doesn’t wish to be named, from Milton Keynes Hospital has come forward to speak out about what it has been like for the NHS behind the scenes.

‘The main interest of the trust is the Ross Kemp documentary,’ the staff member told Metro.co.uk.

‘Considering it was the first thing mentioned in the latest staff update, they know it shouldn’t have happened, but it has.

‘There are staff members in the trust who have family in those intensive care units and they are not able to visit. What are the priorities here; is it your patients and your staff looking after those people, or is it media attention for the trust?’

According to the latest figures provided by the government, 27 NHS staff members have died from Covid-19 so far.

Speaking about putting more NHS workers at risk of contracting the deadly virus, the member of staff commented: ‘Whether it’s one, two, three, four, or five people those people have seen X amount of people, so it’s unnecessary exposure. Particularly for those in ICU.

‘I can only imagine if it was my family member that had been there (intensive care ward) and I wasn’t able to see them and to imagine that their last moments, or, you know, potential last moments could be spent with a film crew for a nationally televised TV programme.

‘When you know we couldn’t say goodbye, it’s disgusting.’

The source went on to explain that they feel the trust’s response to their staff about the documentary is ‘cold-hearted’ and they claim they were only told about it 24 hours before it was made public knowledge.

‘I think their response is cold-hearted and quite matter-of-fact and considering the trust has values about caring and communication and collaboration and the feel on the ground is there isn’t much communication, it’s signed, sealed delivered already,’ they added.

‘The information fed was fed out to the trust within 24 hours before it was released to the public, it was in a very short time frame so not much notice.
It’s intensive care, it was a jaw-dropping moment with everything that is going on, there isn’t a justification for it.’

The claims come as the UK death toll to Covid-19 approaches 14,000, according to the Department of Health (DoH) has confirmed.

The jump in deaths reported on Thursday is another huge daily increase, following a rise of 761 yesterday and 778 on Tuesday.

Despite the programme sparking concerns, Milton Keynes Hospital has since responded to reassure viewers that a full risk assessment was carried out before filming went ahead.

‘We have seen a number of questions and concerns raised following the news that Ross Kemp is filming a documentary at Milton Keynes University Hospital,’ they explained in a statement earlier this week.

‘There is a lot of anxiety and confusion both about the NHS’ ability to meet the pressures of Covid-19 and the type of care that is being offered to those that have the virus.

‘After discussions with NHS England, we believed it was important to give a mainstream media outlet controlled access to the hospital so that the public could be informed and reassured about the response of hospitals to Covid-19.’

The statement went on to defend the reasons behind the documentary and why they allowed Ross and filming crews access to their wards when family members are not allowed to visit their loved ones.

‘The decision was taken jointly by NHS England and the hospital’s executive directors in collaboration with the clinical teams,’ the hospital continued.

‘At a time when there is anxiety nationally about the spread of Covid-19 and the NHS’ ability to respond to the pressures the virus will bring, we felt it was important to give a true account on the work being done in hospitals and in community settings,  and the measures being taken to prevent the spread of the virus.’

‘We hope that the programme will help to reinforce the message that it is important for members of the public to stay at home and protect the NHS.

‘We also hope that it will help to illustrate that hospitals and communities are still running business as usual in certain services, including maternity and emergency departments, up and down the country and that the NHS and other care organisations are there to help people that need it for non-Covid-19 related issues.’

You can read the hospital’s full response here.

A spokesperson for ITV also defended the documentary explaining that Ross and the film crew were invited to the hospital to give viewers an insight ‘into the challenges’ the NHS are facing.

‘At a time when the country is being asked to remain in lockdown in order to help prevent the spread of coronavirus, a small film crew plus presenter, Ross Kemp, were invited by the NHS and the team at Milton Keynes University hospital to capture footage that will allow viewers an insight into the challenges they are facing in dealing with the current crisis,’ a spokesperson told Metro.co.uk.

‘The programme will show NHS workers at all levels at the frontline of this effort and hear their voices telling viewers why staying at home can help them cope with COVID-19.’

They added: ‘In line with carefully agreed access with the NHS, only Ross and one cameraman filmed for a short period of time, less than 30 minutes, in the Intensive Care Unit.  PPE worn by them was replaced by the production team, therefore no NHS supplies were diminished.

‘The safety of all concerned was paramount and the privacy of all patients is being respected.  Consent from both the hospital and the patient is required for any patient to be identified in the programme.’

Metro.co.uk has reached out to Ross Kemp’s rep for comment.

Ross Kemp: On the NHS Frontline airs April 16 at 8.30pm on ITV.

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