ANALYSIS

IT SEEMS clear that the Prime Minister went to hospital because he had difficulty breathing.

He would have been initially put on oxygen and he would have been conscious.

But, as often happens with Covid-19, his condition has deteriorated, so he has been admitted to intensive care where he is very likely to have been put on a mechanical ventilator to breath for him.

A ventilator can be invasive – involving a tube being put down the patient’s throat – or noninvasive – such as breathing through a specialised mask.

Invasive ventilation tends to be recommended for Covid-19 patients.

Intensive care ventilators have sophisticated software and sensors to enable them to adjust the way they work around the needs of the patient, and to change the amount of oxygen inhaled with the air.

It isn’t yet clear whether Boris Johnson is breathing on his own with help from the ventilator, or whether he has been heavily sedated and artificially paralysed and the machine is doing all the breathing for him.

One of the features of Covid-19 in all countries seems to be that many more men become seriously ill than women – especially in the over-40 age group.

Also we know that people under 60 seem to have a higher chance of making a recovery from critical illness with Covid-19 than older people. But there is no doubt this turn of events means Boris Johnson is extremely sick.

It illustrates three of the important healthcare needs of Covid-19.

Firstly many patients need help breathing and there is a shortage of the mechanical ventilators that can do this – and in particular a shortage of the high-quality intensive care ventilators most suitable for Covid-19 patients who might need help for over a week.

Secondly, Covid-19 patients need a huge amount of oxygen, which is potentially likely to be in short supply, to help them breathe.

Thirdly, looking after people in intensive care requires skilled staff, and the experience of New York in particular has been that finding enough skilled staff has been the greatest challenge.

Professor Linda Bauld, Bruce and John Usher Chair in Public Health at the Usher Institute, University of Edinburgh, said: “The admission of the Prime Minister to intensive care is of huge concern and illustrates just how indiscriminate this virus is.

“Anyone anywhere, including the most privileged in our society, can be affected and can become seriously ill.

“It is imperative now, more than ever that the rest of us comply with Government guidelines to stay at home and not put others at risk.

“Questions will be asked in future about whether the UK Government acted appropriately in keeping parliament open and face-to-face meetings going while the rest of the country was already following advice to shut down. For now, however, all our thoughts will be with the Prime Minister and his family – and the many other families who are facing similar circumstances with critically ill relatives.”