BRITAIN GRINDS TO A HALT

NHS staff, teachers, carers, taxi drivers (and even football fans) among thousands hit as panic buying fuels petrol crisis

‘Can’t provide vital services’

TENS of thousands of Britons were forced to work from home yesterday as the fuel crisis left the country running on fumes.

NHS workers, teachers and carers were among those left stranded after filling stations around Britain ran dry.

Hospitals were left stretched and some care workers were unable to visit the elderly as staff could not fill up their cars.

Public bodies in Surrey, including the NHS, police and county council, are considering declaring a major incident in response to the crisis so they can give key workers priority for access to fuel supplies, it emerged last night.

Parents flooded social media yesterday saying their children’s school buses were unable to refuel or that they could not get petrol themselves. Some schools said they were planning for a return to online learning since teachers were unable to travel.

The chief of NHS Providers, which represents hospital trusts, suggested the crisis could hit health leaders’ ability to tackle the backlog of care created by Covid.

Several non-league football matches were called off last night because players and fans could not travel.

Taxi drivers were also hit as they complained about not being able to fill up, with cab firms warning that the crisis could lead to a hike in fares.

It sparked calls yesterday for key workers to be given priority access to fuel.

Two filling stations, an Esso in Worcester and a Sainsbury’s forecourt in Kent near Sevenoaks Hospital, said they would start allowing only NHS workers to fill up.

Ministers and industry leaders urged motorists not to panic buy and stressed there was enough fuel to go around if people did not fill up unnecessarily.

But in a stark illustration of the scale of the panic, shocking footage showed one female motorist dangerously filling water bottles with petrol at a service station at the weekend.

In addition to their tanks, people also continued to fill up jerry cans, sales of which soared by 1,656 per cent over the weekend, according to Halfords.

The supply crisis has been caused by a shortage of HGV drivers, meaning deliveries cannot keep up with demand.

The Petrol Retailers Association, which represents around 5,500 independent forecourts – or 65 per cent of all filling stations in the

UK – said members were reporting anywhere between 50 per cent and 90 per cent of their filling stations running dry.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said at the weekend there was ‘plenty of petrol’ in the country and ministers had a plan to address HGV driver shortages.

Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, led calls for priority access for key workers.

He said: ‘We are hearing worrying reports about NHS staff struggling to get to work.

‘We would urge the Government to explore what support it can give to essential staff – such as priority access to fuel.’

The British Medical Association backed the call.

Its chief, Dr Chaand Nagpaul, said: ‘There is a real risk that NHS staff won’t be able to do their jobs, and provide vital services and care to people who urgently need it.’

Last night it emerged nurses were being forced to choose which patients they should see as a priority and which appointments they had to cancel.

The Nursing Times reported that community nurses were hit in particular as they feared there was not enough fuel to complete a full round of home visits. Meanwhile, Stephen Chandler, of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, said: ‘Care staff must be able to do their jobs.

‘The public also has a responsibility not to make their difficulties any worse.’ London mayor Sadiq Khan spoke of chaos in the capital, saying: ‘We are hearing stories about care workers, people who work in hospitals who need their car to go to hospital, black cab drivers, private hire vehicle drivers not being able to fuel up and provide the services our city needs but also enable people to get to work.’