The news came when British Health Minister Matt Hancock said authorities were considering restoring Covid-19 patients in a hotel as a ‘backup plan’. This is the intense pressure that hospitals are putting on by the latest increase in infections.
The UK was its second deadliest day since the onset of the pandemic on Tuesday, with 1,243 new coronavirus-related deaths. 45,533 new cases were also reported, bringing the total number of cases to 3,117,882.
England began its third national exclusion last week as it struggled to cope with the spread of a new, more contagious variant of the coronavirus. The UK government and senior health officials have warned that many hospitals are on the verge of being overwhelmed.
At a news conference, Hancock said the variant sets the NHS [National Health Service] under very significant pressure, “with Covid-related hospital admissions 22% higher than just the previous week.
The study – which has not yet been peer-reviewed – was published by researchers at King’s College London on Wednesday. It analyzed the responses to an anonymous online survey in June and July among more than 700 doctors and nurses working in intensive care units (ICUs) in six different hospitals.
Although nearly 60% of respondents have good well-being, the study found that nearly half of ICU staff have symptoms consistent with a probable diagnosis of PTSD, major depression, or anxiety or drinking problems.
Nearly one in seven (13.4%) of ICU staff regularly thought they were better off or hurting themselves over the past two weeks.
About 45% of respondents reached at least one of these criteria for probable clinical significance: major depression (6.3%), PTSD (39.5%), severe anxiety (11.3%) or problem drinking (7 , 2%).
Nursing staff were more likely to report higher levels of emergency than doctors or other clinical staff, the researchers found. Nearly half of those who completed the surveys were nurses and just over 40% doctors. The researchers found that doctors consistently reported better health than nurses.
The study, led by Neil Greenberg of the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London, was published online in the journal Occupational Medicine.
“Our results highlight the potential profound impact that Covid-19 has had on the mental health of UK frontline staff,” the study said.
“(The) probable PTSD rate we report was about nine times the average in the general population and more than double that of recent combat veterans.
The researchers note that ICU staff experienced many stressors during the pandemic, including staff shortages, fear of the virus ‘action and the danger to their loved ones, concerns about the lack of personal protective equipment and distress with the loss of patients’ lives. despite their best. attempts.
The findings of the study will only increase concerns about NHS staff in England as they struggle to treat record numbers of patients with Covid-19.
Hancock said on Wednesday that government authorities regarded Covid patients in hotels as a ‘backup plan’, but that ‘obviously not what I want to do’.
“We are considering all the options, this is not something we are actively pursuing. But I would say it would only ever happen if it was clinically right for an individual patient,” Hancock told the BBC.
“There is a delay in the number of cases to the number of people arriving in hospital. We therefore know that the pressure on the NHS will continue to build over the next few weeks,” he added.
Hancock said the temporary Nightingale hospitals set up by NHS England amid the first wave of the pandemic, there was a relapse for hospitals.
Asked about the type of patients that would be sent to hotels, the health secretary said it would ‘put off patients or patients who were in hospital who no longer need full hospital treatment but do not completely ready to go. house. ‘
London and South East England are one of the areas worst affected by the new variant, although it has now spread across the UK and has been detected in at least 50 other countries, including Ireland which has been hit hard.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan on Friday declared a “major incident” in the English capital due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus … and the increase in Covid-19 cases in hospitals, putting the NHS at risk To become overwhelmed. “
The British government is pinning its hopes on bringing the crisis under control during a massive vaccination operation with Covid-19.
“So far in the UK, we have given 2.6 million doses to 2.3 million people, and we have protected more people through vaccinations than all the countries in Europe put together,” Hancock said on Monday in a Downing press release. Street said.
Hancock said the UK was on track to deliver a first dose of the vaccine to “everyone in the top four cohorts” by February 15 – accounting for 88% of Covid-19 deaths – These groups include all parental homes. residents and staff, all aged 70 and over, and health and social care workers.
Two-fifths of those over 80 and nearly a quarter of older nursing homes received a first dose of coronavirus vaccine as of Monday, Hancock said.
CNN’s Martin Goillandeau, Duarte Mendonca and Niamh Kennedy contributed to this report.