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“Please look after yourselves. It is bad enough when we see preventable and devastating injuries coming to us at the best of times, let alone in the current crisis when we have very limited resource.” Alastair Brown, is a senior Consultant at the Ulster Hospital, who over the past week has had to do complicated surgery, including amputations caused by every day activities at home as a result of accidents caused by the careless handling of gardening equipment such as lawn mowers and hedge trimmers; is warning the public that NHS resources are stretched because of the Covid-19 pandemic affecting Northern Ireland NHS resources. Extensive surgery in these cases were limbs and fingers require urgent treatment to save them, are very time consuming and requires a whole team of doctors and nurses.
The BelfastLive on-line news outlet, reported that he said these “potentially devastating” injuries can require “hours of theatre time to repair”, but that “going forward as this situation escalates and despite doing the best that we can, there may be very difficult decisions to be made about how we have to divert resources to where they are most imminently needed”. His comments were made following a surgeon at the Royal, and Health Minister Robin Swann joined forces to appeal to people to steer clear of activities that could cause accidents. BelfastLive reported him further as saying: “[The] current situation is having a two-fold effect on our services in the Plastic Surgery Unit”. “People during lockdown are looking for activities to occupy their time at home, leading to exposure to injury from DIY and gardening. Our ability, however, to provide our service to repair and reconstruct related injuries, is becoming more restricted as front line staff and resource is directed towards those most in need. Many of the injuries that come to us can be avoided. It is of paramount importance that the public take heed of the situation and help both themselves and the NHS.” The on-line news report said that Mr Brown outlined how over the past week, a “significant number of injuries” have been brought to the Ulster Hospital, “some of which have resulted in amputation of fingers with devastating functional consequences”. These incidents come “on top of the other injuries and conditions for which patients avail of our services in our hospitals on a daily basis.” The surgeon added: Ensure that you follow equipment safety advice at all times and take extra precautions. It is also equally important to be aware of injuries that can happen in the garden. Careless use of lawnmowers and hedge clippers or chainsaws can cause devastating injuries that can have lifelong consequences - keep your fingers away from the blades. Please be cautious around the house and garden otherwise. Burns and trauma services overall face similar resource issues. Please be more vigilant than usual around fires or hot objects and liquids to prevent burns injuries."
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Alastair Brown said accidents associated with careless handling of lawnmowers, and other garden power tools, such as hedge trimmers, had led to serious injuries, including the loss of fingers, which require “extensive surgery”.