- Doctors in England have warned that the National Health Service team is “at the breaking point” and hospitals are running out of oxygen.
- It comes amid an alarming new increase in COVID-19 patients across the country, with scientists warning that a new variant of the coronavirus, possibly more infectious, is responsible for a sharp increase in infections.
- There are now more patients with COVID-19 in the hospital than anywhere else in the pandemic, and the London Ambulance Service said December 26 was one of the “busiest days of all time”.
- A hospital in south London was forced to declare an “internal incident” over the weekend due to pressure on services.
- Some facilities in the city were also forced to divert ambulances amid concerns about oxygen supply, according to the Independent.
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Doctors in England are warning that the National Health Service team is at a “tipping point” and hospitals are running out of oxygen amid a further alarming increase in COVID-19 patients across the country.
Official NHS figures show that there are now more patients with COVID-19 in the hospital than at the previous peak in the spring, while the London Ambulance Service said Boxing Day was one of the “busiest days of all time”.
UK medical director Chris Whitty said in a December 19 statement that a new, more infectious variant of the coronavirus could be partly responsible for a recent spike in infections.
The number of daily cases recorded in the UK rose to its highest value on Monday, with 40,000 new cases confirmed, according to government data.
The increase in the mix of families during Christmas also raised concerns that the situation could get even worse in January.
According to the Independent, Queen Elizabeth Hospital in London – where the new variant of the coronavirus is particularly prevalent – has been forced to divert ambulances to other hospitals amid concerns about oxygen supply.
Patients with severe cases of COVID-19 are often placed on ventilation machines that require oxygen.
The hospital is part of the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, which in a statement said it declared an internal incident on Sunday as a “precautionary measure”.
Ambulances were asked to take emergency patients to nearby hospitals because the number of COVID-19 patients meant that there was more demand for oxygen tubes than supply, according to the Independent.
Several other hospitals in London were also forced to report serious incidents last week, the agency added.
‘Breaking point’
Dr. Samantha Batt-Rawden, senior registrar for intensive care and president of the Doctors’ Association UK – an association representing more than 46,000 NHS doctors – said this week that the NHS team was at a “breaking point”, partly because many have become ill since the new coronavirus variant appeared.
—Dr Samantha Batt-Rawden (@sbattrawden) December 28, 2020
“We are incredibly thin on the ground,” tweeted Batt-Rawden. “NHS officials have not been prioritized for the vaccine and are getting sick en masse with the new strain.”
Batt-Rawden also shared a post now excluded from an NHS council in Wales, asking medical students to provide support for patients with COVID-19 pronation, a treatment by which patients are placed on their fronts for an extended period .
Figures published by the NHS England show that there were 20,426 COVID-19 patients confirmed in English hospitals as of 8 am on December 28. That number was higher for the first time than the previous peak in April 18,974.
Graph showing the number of COVID-19 patients confirmed in hospitals in the UK on December 19, 2020.
UK Government
These numbers appear to increase dramatically as the new variant spreads across England.
Professor Andrew Hayward, an infectious disease specialist who advises the UK government on COVID-19, said the government needed to introduce more restrictions on social mix to avoid “catastrophes” in the new year.
“We are going to need decisive and early national action to prevent a catastrophe in January and February,” Hayward told the BBC on Tuesday. The comments were quoted by Reuters.
The Emergency Scientific Advisory Group, a separate group that advises the government on its response to the coronavirus, told Prime Minister Boris Johnson to close schools in January to prevent an even more severe increase in coronavirus infections in January, according to the politician.
Michael Gove, the cabinet minister, said on Monday that he was “confident” that there would be a “staggered” return to secondary schools as planned.
“We are confident that we will be able to put schools in good shape. Our plan and schedule are there, and we are working with teachers to stick to them,” he told BBC Radio 4’s “Today” program.