A CONSULTANT has talked about how Bolton NHS staff cared for those wounded by the Manchester bomb attack.

Chris Moulton had come to the end of a long shift on Monday night and was getting ready for bed in his Great Lever home when he received a call from work.

At 11pm The Royal Bolton Hospital had been put on major incident alert, preparing to take in people who suffered horrific injuries in an explosion at Manchester Arena.

The consultant of 23 years was quickly on site at A&E along with others who were either on shift or had come back to give their support.

He said: “We initially did not know how many people we would be receiving, or the type of injuries. We had an idea there had been a bomb but that was it – we just had to get ready as fast as we could.

“The real worry was you don’t know if it’s 10s or 100s injured, how minor or severe the injuries are or if its adults or children.

“It was an atmosphere of anticipation but fairly calm. We had a well-practiced major incident response plan.”

Tears of Bolton NHS staff who came face-to-face with horrors of terrorist attack

Staff heard the bomb had exploded at a concert but were unaware of how many had been affected or of the ages of those involved.

Within a couple of hours the staff had cleared as many wards and beds as possible in readiness for the arrivals and the first casualties started coming in within a couple of hours.

While eight people came by ambulance, the hospital also dealt with many more ‘walking wounded’, some of whom were badly injured.

Dr Moulton, aged 60, described how patients, mainly teenagers and adults, were wounded by flying metal from the blast, including metal nuts.

He said: “There were strange shapes of metal in them or the types of nuts you would find at home.

“Most people had shrapnel injuries. They all received an antibiotic, anti-tetanus and anti-hepatitis drug.

“We say walked in but some who came were in wheelchairs and one or two were quite severely injured.

“We had quite a lot of people on wards waiting to go into the operating theatres.

“Our main thing was to show them kindness. They really want someone to take care of them and show kindness. I hope they felt that.”

As well as dealing with physical injuries, the hospital teams were fully aware how just as much care was needed for the victims psychological wounds.

Dr Moulton, Vice President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, added: “The people coming to us were in shock.

“It was same case in the First World War, people coming from a horrendous event are in such a strange state of mind, they hardly believe what’s going on.

“Once on the ward people started to open up, they witnessed things they shouldn’t have had to.

“We have to look after everyone, make them warm and comfortable, and get them home safe and well.”

Of the hundreds of staff on the ground that night, around half of the A&E team, surgeons and managers came in while off duty to help care for those wounded.

Dr Moulton’s work ended at 5.30am but many continued on until after 7am, and staff continue to care for the six remaining injured who are still receiving treatment in Bolton.

The consultant has added his praise to all the staff he worked with that night and for the NHS employees who help keep the hospital running all year round.

He said: “There were eight hospitals involved altogether and we took on more than our fair share, we have done so much more than asked.

“It is not just the doctors and nurses, an awful lot of other people involved, from the managers, cleaners and porters working their socks off.”