On Thursday, March 12, the Gazette published an article online carrying the account of a whistleblower who works at Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital.

On Wednesday, March 11, the whistleblower told this newspaper in great detail about an unwell patient displaying the symptoms of COVID-19 who was brought onto the Coronary Care Unit alongside critically ill patients before they tested positive for the disease.

The whistleblower raised concerns as moving an infected patient onto another ward goes against the Trust’s guidelines. At this stage, the article and the whistleblower's account is clear that the patient had not tested positive for COVID-19.

Once on the ward, the whistleblower alleged the patient was swabbed and tested, later returning a positive result for COVID-19.

The patient was then moved into isolation. In the meantime, another patient on the ward began showing the symptoms of COVID-19.

Since this article was published, we have received various comments across our platforms. A relative of a patient who was being treated on the Coronary Care Unit ward at the same time got in touch. Their account corroborates what the whistleblower has alleged and the account this newspaper has reported.

The relative has told this newspaper that their family were contacted by a doctor at the hospital who said their loved one had come into contact with someone on their ward who had tested positive for COVID-19. The relative's loved one has now been taken into isolation as a precautionary measure.

Yesterday, Hampshire Hospitals NHS Trust released a statement defending their approach to COVID-19 but it did not deny the incident happened. 

In private emails between the Trust and the Gazette, the Trust appears to admit the incident occurred but disagrees on equipment and whether it breached policy.

The statement reads as follows: “On Thursday evening, the Basingstoke Gazette took the decision to publish an article which carried a number of inaccurate and unsubstantiated claims about our handling of COVID-19.

“The situation is very different to that reported in the paper and we want to reassure our patients and staff that we have well-rehearsed plans in place to manage the outbreak and have been following all of the appropriate guidance to provide safe and effective care to our patients.

“The trust rigorously follows infection control rules and did not place a COVID-19 positive patient on a ward where they could not be properly isolated, and we provide full personal protective equipment to all staff who need it.

“Our hardworking hospital staff have gone above and beyond and we would like to thank them for their efforts to prepare and manage any outbreak.”

We note that the response from the Trust lacks detail to give confidence in their processes and does not actually deny or reject the whistleblower’s account.

We stand by our decision to publish the account of the whistleblower.