Intensive care doctor, paramedic and consultant reveal the pressure facing hospitals as cases rise
It was when Claire* was walking around central London before Christmas that it hit home how bad the situation would be in her hospital over the festive period. As hordes of shoppers gathered, the “penny dropped”, bringing into sharp focus the enormity of what the NHS would be facing this winter.
Her fears have become reality. The intensive care doctor says she and her colleagues have returned to the “fire fighting” they did at the start of the pandemic. It is a case of NHS staff not eating or being able to go to the toilet for a whole shift, with the number of people requiring her help growing by the day.
