Covid hospital patients in England up by 37 per cent
The IndependentSign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Hospital beds taken up by Covid patients have surged by 37 per cent, as experts warn the UK has entered its fifth wave. “Having our NHS, which is already on its knees, working like it’s in the middle of winter, we’re getting up to 1,000 hospitalisations a day now, it’s not good news, that figure is going to go up.” The increase in Covid patients across hospitals comes amid wider pressures on NHS beds, such as delayed discharges, which are driving record waits in A&E. Cases of Covid in the community have increased sharply in recent weeks, with figures last week showing 1.7 million people testing positive across the UK, a 23 per cent increase on the week before. That would represent the third such peak in six months, much faster than previous waves.” On Friday the Commons science committee published a letter from health secretary Sajid Javid on 9 June which said while the UK is “well placed” to deal with future Covid variants “it is possible that a contingency response could be required”.