Professor Chris Gray, clinical lead for the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care System warned: “The next few days and weeks will be crucial.”
On Tuesday, 45,533 people tested positive for coronavirus with 1,243 deaths reported. Hospitals across England saw 32,200 covid patients in hospitals.
One of the country’s largest teaching hospitals is expecting to see more than 1,200 coronavirus patients on its wards by the end of January.
In a conference call with doctors on Tuesday, bosses at the West Midlands trust warned the peak of the current surge across the region was not expected to top out until the end of the month.
The Independent has learned that hospitals across Cumbria and the northeast of England have been forced to cancel more operations as the pressure on hospitals there increases.
The University Hospitals Birmingham Trust already has 873 Covid patients on wards across its three main hospitals, with 125 of those in intensive care. The trust has the largest critical care unit in England at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, but is already having to expand into other areas because of the sheer volume of patients.
Doctors were told on Tuesday that the trust could not allow itself to be in a position where patients cannot access intensive care. As a result, it has been forced to stop routine operations at the QE site with operating theatres turned into makeshift intensive care wards.
In a message to doctors on Monday, consultant Peter Hewins warned: “The trust position is one of extremis. We are at significant risk of becoming overwhelmed by Covid-19 patients and specifically our ICUs are under immense pressure. We are planning for 280 ICU patients across the trust 230 at Queen Elizabeth Hospital – potentially as soon as the end of this week.”
As a result of the pressures the trust has redeployed 200 senior doctors along with 300 other staff to help care for patients.
Trust bosses are concerned that they are currently seeing 100 patients a day being admitted which could mean a “steady state of 1200 Covid patients” with the increase expected over the next 12 to 14 days.
One senior consultant on the conference calls warned that doctors at the trust will face difficult weeks ahead and may have to make difficult choices about the care patients would be able to receive.
He said: “It is inevitable, and we need to be honest with the public about that. I really worry for my junior colleagues.
“The next few weeks are going to be horrible, but we working together is the most important part of it.”
A spokesperson for University Hospitals Birmingham said: “We continue to expand our intensive care and acute medical teams so they are able to treat the rising number of Covid-19 patients and those who require time-critical surgery including cancer operations.
“Every member of staff will be supported by the trust in delivering the best care wherever they are working.”
The problem of rising pressure on hospitals is also being felt across other parts of England. Hospitals in Cheshire have made an urgent appeal for extra staff to work on wards with the number of Covid-19 patients on wards now more than 60 per cent of all hospital beds.
In Cumbria and the northeast of England, hospitals have started to cancel routine operations and outpatient appointments.
Clinical lead for the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care System, professor Chris Gray, said: “This is a critical time for the health system across the northeast and north Cumbria. Some areas in the region are under more pressure than others and we are prepared for a further rise in admissions over the next couple of weeks if required.
“As a result of this, and because of Covid-19 related staff absences, hospital trusts in the northeast and north Cumbria have had to postpone some non-urgent planned operations and procedures. This is done as a last resort and patients should be reassured that we are doing everything we can to maintain as much planned care as possible. Those that are postponed will be rearranged as soon as trusts possibly can.
“The next few days and weeks will be crucial and we are acutely aware that the situation can change very quickly. This is why now, more than ever, we need the continued support of the public. People should be in no doubt that the actions they take now and, in the days to come, will help to keep the number of infections down. A plea to them from our health system is to please follow the rules.”
