NHS hospitals in England are under a lot of pressure as coronavirus cases rise, with doctors raising the warning about “very busy services” and one trust urging volunteers to help vulnerable patients.
The warning comes as the number of patients with coronavirus in hospitals exceeded the peak of the first wave – up to 20,426 as of 8m on Monday, more than the April high of 18,946. Health officials in Wales and Scotland have also said they are afraid of upset.
Dr Yvonne Doyle, medical director of Public Health England, said hospitals were against “unprecedented” levels of disease, after the UK reported 41,385 new cases confirmed by laboratory on Monday, the number highest yet for one day.
Matthew Kershaw, chief executive of Croydon Health Services NHS Trust, told BBC Radio 4’s Today program that hospitals were “under a lot of pressure” and “very, very busy”.
“We have expanded our capacity here in Croydon, as have hospitals across the capital and indeed across the country. So we have increased our emergency care capacity, we have expanded capacity for shared beds as well. “
“So we have responded, so far, well to the needs of our people.”
He said: “It’s very, very busy … and it’s a very important and difficult time but we’re responding well at the moment. ”
UK coronavirus cases
His words were echoed by Samantha Batt-Rawden, an NHS emergency care doctor and president of the Association of Doctors UK – a union representing facial therapists – who expressed her enthusiasm on social media.
“I run a network for over 46K doctors. Things are very bad on the front line and NHS doctors need help to get the word out, ”she tweeted.
She said: “Hospitals are running out of oxygen. One trust has no non-invasive tools left. ICUn tweets for volunteers to vulnerable patients. Patient evacuation teams are asked to move 65+ miles to the nearest hospital with emergency care capability. Please. Stay at home if you can. ”
Batt-Rawden shared a tweet from Cardiff University and Vale Health Board, which has since been removed, which read: “Our emergency care department is seeking support from medical students or other staff groups who has previously provided support with phonics of patients ”.
Proning is the process of bringing a patient to the forefront. Having someone in this position helps patients with severe respiratory distress.
Batt-Rawden said: “Help NHS staff talk about how things are on the front line. It’s horrible. And we are shouting from the tops. ”
Richard Breeze, clinical director of emergency care at Lewisham and Greenwich NHS trust, said coronavirus cases where he is working are reaching first-wave levels but this time they have fewer staff.
“It’s bad,” he said. “And it’s getting worse. We have moved and expanded our footprint but we have stretched thinly, and we need to make our unit bigger to suit people. ”
“We have fewer staff this wave than last year, as more people are sick and have been tested for coronavirus and told quarantine. We have less staff provision. ”
Will Broughton, of the College of Paramedics, said a large number of patients with Covid needed to be admitted to the hospital in addition to the usual seasonal requests they receive each winter.
Hospitals near the point “urgently” needed more facilities, he said, taking them longer than some patients should be able to help. “At the moment we are only trying to defend the response for those who are seriously ill… but those with a lower priority are waiting a long time or are not getting an ambulance at all , ”He said.
In a new year message recorded at a vaccine center, Sir Simon Stevens, chief executive of the NHS, paid tribute to those on the front line including doctors, nurses, therapists, as well as cleaners and non-medical staff such as carers, volunteers and care home staff.
Stevens said Covid-19 meant 2020 was probably “the hardest year most of us can remember”.
“That is certainly true across the health service where we have been tackling the worst pandemic in a century,” he said. He said the vaccination program, the largest in the history of the health service, was a source of greater hope for the year ahead.
“Many of us have lost family, friends, colleagues and – at a time of year when we would celebrate as usual – many people sensibly feel anxiety, harassment and fatigue.
“And once again we are back in the eye of the storm with the second wave of coronavirus sweeping Europe and, indeed, this country. “