Ministers have been accused of abandoning the NHS as it facing mounting pressures due to Covid-19.
Here, your questions are answered about the current state of play in the NHS.
– What has been said?
The NHS Confederation has said that very high rates of Covid-19 infections are having a “major impact” on the health service, which is facing pressures it would see in a “bad winter” well into spring.
The membership body, which represents healthcare organisations, called on the Government to reconsider its Living with Covid plan as it said ministers risk “abandoning” the NHS if they do not take action.
– So how many patients with Covid-19 are being treated?
The number of people in hospital in the UK with Covid-19 looks to have levelled off just above the peak reached at the start of the year.
A total of 20,331 patients were recorded on April 7, according to the latest Government figures.
This is broadly unchanged on the previous few days and is slightly above the January 2022 peak of 20,050.
But it is well below the record high of 39,256 that was reached during the second wave of the virus in January 2021.
There is a similar trend in England, where patient numbers stood at 16,366 on April 8 – again, largely unchanged on recent days and just below the January 2022 peak of 17,120.
Different patterns are evident across the regions, with patient levels rising in the Midlands, falling in south-west England and plateauing elsewhere.
– But are all of these people being treated for Covid-19?
Nearly three in five hospital patients in England (58%) who have tested positive for Covid-19 are being treated primarily for something else – the highest level so far.
The proportion of patients who are in hospital “with” Covid-19 rather than “for” it has been rising steadily since the end of last year, when the figure stood at around 25%.
But all patients who test positive for coronavirus have to be treated separately from other people in hospital, adding to pressures faced by NHS staff who are trying to clear a record backlog of routine treatment.
– What about the situation elsewhere in hospitals?
Many parts of the NHS are feeling the strain of current pressures.
As well as dealing with large volumes of Covid-19 patients, there are high rates of staff absences due to the virus, full hospitals and severe demands on emergency care.
Too many ambulances are waiting longer than they should to “hand over” patients at hospital – this leads to queues of ambulances outside hospitals and longer waiting times for people in the community who have called 999 for emergency medical help.
In the week commencing March 28, 21,432 delays of half an hour or longer were recorded across all hospital trusts in England.
There are troubles inside hospitals too, as many A&E departments struggle to see, treat and admit or discharge patients in their target timeframes.
The NHS Confederation said that in the last week alone 20 emergency departments in England have been forced to turn patients away as they issued “diverts” due to being too full.
Meanwhile, the NHS is expected to deal with the backlog of care, with more than six million people waiting for hospital treatment in England alone.
The NHS Confederation called into question whether targets to tackle the record backlog are realistic in the current environment.
– What about NHS workers?
Data published on April 7 showed staff absences at NHS hospitals in England due to Covid-19 are at their highest level since late January, with numbers continuing to climb in most regions.
Absences averaged 28,560 a day in the previous week – the equivalent of 3% of the workforce – up from 27,571 the week before, though still below the 45,736 (5% of the workforce) reached in early January.
– What does the NHS Confederation want the Government to do?
It called for stronger messages to the public on how to reduce transmission, including wearing the best possible face masks, and urging people to get vaccinated.
There also needs to be medium-term plans put into place, including better ventilation in public spaces, it added.
The NHS Confederation has also urged ministers to 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.
