Coronavirus: London hospitals facing ‘tsunami’ of patients

On 26th March, Chris Hopson, the chief executive of NHS Providers was interviewed on radio

Editors Note: This has been included as it appears the day after Julians Bail application on Covid-19 risks was dismissed. How can a health service support prisons when it is raising alarm at supporting the general public?

London hospitals are facing a “continuous tsunami” of coronavirus patients and some are likely to be overwhelmed in a few days, according to Chris Hopson, the chief executive of NHS Providers – which represents hospital bosses.

Hopson said hospitals had expanded critical care capacity between five and sevenfold in the last weeks, but chief executives have been alarmed by the speed at which beds are filling up in the capital.

He said the problems had been exacerbated by medical staff off sick with suspected coronavirus or in vulnerable groups, with 30% to 50% not at work in some trusts.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he said: “They are struggling with the explosion of demand in seriously ill patients. They are saying it’s the number arriving and the speed with which they are arriving and how ill they are. They talk about wave after wave after wave. The words that are used to me are that it’s a continuous tsunami. As one said to me, it’s much bigger and large numbers with a greater degree of stretch than you can ever have possibly imagined.

Read full articles
The Guardian
RT News