NHS was ‘overwhelmed’ in January surge, study finds

The NHS “was largely overwhelmed” at the height of the UK’s Covid second wave in January, according to a study.

New research published in Anaesthesia, a journal of the Association of Anaesthetists, revealed the scale of the pressure on hospitals during the pandemic and how stretched some units were.

Based on surveys of all NHS hospitals, with more than half responding, the study found almost a third of anaesthetists were redeployed to look after critically ill patients, leaving 42% of operating theatres closed.

This meant operations, including for cancer and emergency surgery patients, had to be cancelled.

The research, by Professor Tim Cook, a consultant in anaesthesia and intensive care at the Royal United Hospitals Bath Foundation Trust, said: “Three-quarters of critical care units were so expanded that planned surgery could not be safely resumed. At all times, the greatest resource limitation was staff.”

It is thought the findings are an underestimate of how bad the situation really was in some hospitals because the busiest units were less able to respond to the survey.

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Source: The Independent, 19 May 2021