Covid levels ‘putting winter levels of pressure on overstretched NHS’
Very high rates of Covid-19 infections are having a "major impact" on the health service, which is facing pressures as they would in a "bad winter" well into spring, health leaders have said.
Thewarningcomesasthelatest figures show Scotland has recorded 4,266 cases of coronavirus but no deaths in the 24 hours to yesterday.
However, Public Health Scotland (PHS) noted that register offices are generally closed at weekends.
As of yesterday, the Scottish Government is no longer providing updates to Covid-19 daigency ly data for Scotland, which is being published on the PHS dashboard.
PHS data yesterday showed that 2,148 people were in hospitalwithrecentlyconfirmedcovid-19, with 21 in intensive care.
Thenhsconfederationcalled ontheukgovernmenttoreconsider its Living with Covid plan as it said that ministers risk "abandoning" the NHS if they do not take action.
Themembershipbody,which representshealthcareorganisations,saidgovernmentmessaging to the public could "mislead thepublicanddiscouragethem totakestepstoreducetransmission, contributing to the very high rates of Covid-19".
It called for "mitigating actions" to help the NHS.
"The brutal reality for staff and patients is that this Easter in the NHS is as bad as any winter," said Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation.
"But instead of the understanding and support NHS staff received during 2020 and 2021, we have a government that seems to want to wash its hands of responsibility for what is occurring in plain sight in local services up and down the country.
"No 10 has seemingly abandoned any interest in Covid whatsoever.
"NHS leaders and their teams feel abandoned by the government and they deserve better."
The organisation said that in the last week alone 20 emerdepartments in England have been forced to turn patients away as they issued "diverts" due to being too full.
Thenhsconfederationcalled into question whether plans to tackletherecordbacklogofcare are realistic.
Itcalledforstrongermessages to the public on how to reduce transmission, including wearingthebestpossiblefacemasks, and urging people to get vaccinated.
Meanwhile,ministersshould reconsider asking the NHS to foot the bill for Covid-19 tests for staff – estimated to cost the NHS "several hundred million pounds" which is being taken away from patient care.
Mr Taylor said that the nation was "behaving as if this pandemic is over, but it is not over inrelationtothechallengesfacing the health service".
Hetoldbbcbreakfast:"there isalackofawarenessofengagement pressures the health service is under and it's particularly felt in hospitals at the ambulance service, but it's actually across the system.
"So we have a situation in our health service now which is as bad as any winter, even though we're approaching Easter and it's really important that we understand that this has happening.
"In our view, we do not have a 'Living with Covid' plan, we have a 'living without restrictions' ideology’.”