The NHS is in a “perilous” state and would struggle to cope with a second pandemic as overcrowded hospitals buckle under even day-to-day demands, top doctors have warned.
Health leaders said overrun emergency departments, an explosion of corridor care and soaring waiting lists meant hospitals are in a much worse position to take on extra pressures such as those that came with a sudden influx of patients seen during the height of the Covid-19 crisis.
