A coronavirus surge is already hitting London – where more than half of England’s infected patients are being treated.
The NHS is scrambling to avert the worst-case scenario, described as “armageddon”, when the virus reaches its expected peak in seven to 10 days.
It’s hoped that the newly assembled temporary hospital at east London’s ExCel centre will be able to bear the brunt of the surge, with NHS leaders ruling out shipping patients elsewhere in the country, so that Covid-19 can be better contained.
The capital is at the epicentre of the UK epidemic — with Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, warning of a tsunami of cases. But analysis seen by The Independent shows the majority of London patients are in the outer suburbs.
The analysis, by company Edge Health, shows there is a doughnut-type shape of cases forming around central London hospitals where the population is younger than in the outer boroughs.
NHS England on Thursday confirmed there were 2,000 Covid-19 patients in London hospitals, out of a total of 4,300 in hospital across the whole of England. Meanwhile, the Department of Health and Social Care said there were now 11,658 cases and 578 confirmed deaths.
Doctors working in hospitals across the capital told The Independent differing accounts of what was happening in their units, with some already at risk of being overstretched while others are putting together their final plans for when the surge hits them.
There are around 800 intensive care beds in London with a surge capacity of up to 3,000 beds, but bosses at NHS England believe they will need up to seven times more, which is why the ExCel centre, dubbed the NHS Nightingale, is so crucial.
The Independent has also learned tonight that NHS bosses are in advanced discussions to create up to five field hospitals across England, in addition to the ExCel centre.
The military was understood to be at Birmingham’s NEC conference centre today as part of plans to create a hospital there, as well as at the Manchester Central conference venue.
Read More: The Independent
