The chief medical adviser of the United Kingdom warned that the “worst period” of the epidemic was coming, and the National Health Service (NHS) was worried that hospitals would be overcrowded at that time and planned to implement a “very controversial” emergency measure.
The president of the British “Patient Association” shouted directly that the NHS was making “desperate choices”.
According to a British media The Guardian on January 12, a senior source revealed that the head of British hospitals called improving “emergency response capacity” to prevent the collapse of the NHS.
They intend to let thousands of coronavirus patients be discharged early and stay in hotels or their own homes to make room for critically ill patients.
At the same time, the NHS also requires care centers to start accepting coronavirus patients from hospitals, as long as they are quarantined for 14 days without symptoms, without the need for the latest nucleic acid test report.
The Guardian reported that NHS officials said they would not require patients who are still at medical risk to be discharged early, “this is for patients who do not need to lie in hospital beds but still need to be in protected environments”.
The NHS and the most stressed hospital owners are in detailed discussions about implementing the “family and hotel” plan, which will involve thousands of coronavirus patients, a senior NHS source said.
Sources said that this was part of their efforts to build an “extra emergency response capacity” after exhausting other methods, such as Nightingale temporary hospital.
Under this plan, COVID-19 patients who are discharged early and stay in hotels will receive help from volunteer organizations, such as St. John’s Ambulance Agency, the British Red Cross, armed forces medical personnel, and all available NHS employees.
According to the report, the London Hotel Group (LHG) has begun to accept homeless coronavirus patients from King’s College Hospital in southern London and take care of them with the best hotels near Croydon.
London Hotel Group said that its hotel can provide at least 5,000 beds. A group spokesman said that the discharged patients at this stage are recovering or recovering.
They do not need expert medical supervision or care, but they cannot go home at present. “This move can make up NHS beds and hotels relatively easy to stay in.”
However, NHS sources warned that at present, the UK health service has reached record sick leave levels, and vaccination efforts are under way.
Once patients are discharged, few staff have time to provide important care in private homes or hotels.
The plan comes amid growing concerns about hospitals being overcrowded soon and the “inflection point” arriving not so soon.
The number of coronavirus patients admitted to hospitals in the UK exceeds 35,000, an increase of 6,213 last week alone.
Since the discovery of the mutant virus was announced last December, the infectious coronavirus, which is 50% higher, has spread like a “wildfire” across the UK.
The mutant coronavirus has increased infection rates in London, eastern England and the southeast, putting many hospitals in a difficult situation, and NHS leaders are worried that similar conditions will soon occur in the southwest and northwest.
And the plan undoubtedly caused great controversy. Lucy Watson, president of the British Patient Association, was disturbed, saying that “This is a terrible situation.
The NHS often has no better choice, and early discharge of patients may be one of the few options for the NHS”.
Watson blamed that early discharge often leads to injuries to patients and will be re-hospited.
Watson also said, “The volunteers in the hotel are not a substitute for appropriate hospital care, but when hospitals are overwhelmed by severe patients and strive to prevent mass deaths, the NHS will obviously make desperate choices.”
Dr. Charlotte Augst, CEO of the health charity The Voice, questioned “where did the medical and caregivers who took care of these discharged patients come from?” The NHS’s plan to require care centers to accept hospital patients has also raised concerns among healthcare workers who want to ensure that no discharged patients continue to spread the virus.
On January 11, Chris Whitty, the chief medical adviser of the British government, warned that the “worst period” of the British epidemic was coming, and said that “the next few weeks” would be the “worst weeks” of the epidemic.
Prime Minister Boris also warned on the 4th that the next few weeks will be “the most difficult so far” and the number of confirmed cases and patients will rise further, but believes that “it has entered the final stage of the struggle”.
London’s mayor Sadiq Khan declared the city in a state of “major accident” on January 8, saying that London hospitals may reach saturation within a few weeks, depleting all patient beds.
Last week, some experts suggested that the British government learn from Asian countries such as China and Vietnam and adopt a “Asian-style” strict blockade, warning that otherwise “havoc will come”.
According to the latest data released by the Department of Health and Social Security, as of January 12, local time, the number of new confirmed cases in the United Kingdom exceeded 45,000 in a single day, with a total of 3.16 million confirmed cases; 1,243 new deaths, with a total of 83,000.
