NHS stretched as hospital cases still rising

NHS England’s national medical director has said it will be “some time” before the Covid-19 vaccination programme starts to reduce pressures on hospitals, as latest figures showed a record 37,475 people in hospital with coronavirus.

Professor Stephen Powis told a Downing Street press conference on Monday that around 15,000 people had been admitted to hospitals with coronavirus since Christmas Eve.

He said: “It is absolutely critical that we continue to stick to those social distancing rules that are in place. That we don’t rely yet on vaccines coming to our rescue. It will be some time before the effects of the vaccination programme are seen through into reducing pressure on hospitals. We all have a role to play in reducing the risk of transmission.”

Earlier, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation warned the NHS could hit the limit of its critical care beds this week as hospital admissions due to Covid-19 continue to rise.

Danny Mortimer, told Times Radio: “I think this next week, we will be at the limit of what we probably have the physical space and the people to safely do. And, of course, this is the week when we expect also the highest rate of admissions, the highest demand for the care that we’re providing.”