Hospitals told to clear beds as NHS braces for second coronavirus spike ‘within two weeks’
HOSPITALS have been told to find extra beds for coronavirus patients within two weeks as the NHS braces for a second spike in cases.
Isolation units for patients are being set up by freeing space on wards for those needing the most care.
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It comes after a spike in coronavirus infections is triggering fears of a second wave of Covid-19 with 10million Brits under local lockdowns.
One MP briefed on the plans during a conference call with health bosses told : "The rate of infection is going up.
"I was told hospitals have reserved beds for people coming out of hospital who need somewhere to recover.
"At the start of lockdown they were having to send people back to care homes or back to other facilities, with dire consequences, so they've booked places in respite care or empty care homes.
SECOND SPIKE
"People will go out of hospital, but they won't return to their normal place of living.
"They just need care before they go back home so that they empty the hospital wards."
A former minister said hospitals are making an effort to scale up capacity in order to be ready for another spike in cases.
Another source who was on the call said councils have been asked to find extra beds.
They added disused care homes were likely to be used too to give care to patients in the event of another wave of Covid-19.
The isolation wards would be in addition to the NHS Nightingale Hospitals, which were built to treat coronavirus patients rather than allow them to recover.
Meanwhile, Health Secretary Matt Hancock is planning to introduce a national "traffic light system" for putting regions into lockdown, Telegraph reports.
This means tougher face coverings rules could be introduced, with "mandatory masks" at the amber level - meaning they could be legally required in even more settings than they are now.
It comes as 2m people in the North East of England are facing new lockdown restrictions following a spike in infections.
The new rules will apply to Newcastle, Northumberland, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Gateshead, County Durham and Sunderland.
Pubs, cafes and restaurants will have to offer table service only, and they will have to shut by 10pm and can't open again until 5pm.
CLOSING TYNE
And people will not be allowed to socialise with any friends and family outside of their own households either - inside or outside.
Care homes in Greater Manchester may also need to accept Covid patients from hospitals, according to .
A leading clinician warned it could become “common place” for hospital patients carrying coronavirus to be discharged into care homes in England this winter.
This already caused controversy in the early months of the pandemic, when care homes were badly hit by the pandemic.
Mike Padgham, an ex-NHS advisor who runs four homes, admitted he filled 19 beds of people who died with OAPs discharged from hospital.
“We don’t get paid for empty beds,” he said.
“We had to admit people with Covid-19 to stay afloat.
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There were 15,501 coronavirus related deaths in care homes in England and Wales up to September 4, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics.
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A further 3,395 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in the UK in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 381,614.
The Government also said a further 21 people had died - bringing the UK death toll to 41,705.
