A
n NHS chief has said her hospital is running at double capacity after an anti-lockdown scientist claimed that it was “not unusually busy”.
Jac Totterdell, chief executive of St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in Tooting, revealed she has had to expand the number of intensive care beds for the critically sick from 60 to 120, the vast majority of which are for Covid-19 patients.
The rest are for those recovering from other serious trauma such as heart attacks or road traffic accidents.
Nurses who would usually be assigned to one patient are now having to deal with up to four casualties at one time at the under pressure hospital.
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By Dave West2021-01-06T12:22:00+00:00
Nine English NHS trusts now have at least half their adult acute beds occupied by covid-positive patients, with admissions still growing in every case.
HSJ’s analysis also shows that two entire health systems Kent and Medway and East London have hit the 50 per cent mark.
Ten out of England’s 42 health systems (known as sustainability and transformation partnerships) now have covid-19 bed occupancy of 33 per cent or more. The same situation is affecting 31 of 126 general acute trusts (25 per cent).
These findings are based on
HSJ’s analysis of NHS internal figures for occupancy and total beds up to 5 January. It covers adult general and acute beds only not intensive care, where covid pressure is also very high.
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