Machibet CasinoCovid-hit London hospitals could send patients to YORKSHIRE as intensive care units reach 114 per cent capacity | The Sun - Mcb777 APP

COVID-hit London hospitals could sent patients to YORKSHIRE as intensive care units reach breaking point at 114 per cent capacity.

Medics are also said to be considering setting up war-style triage tents in car parks to treat the never-ending stream of people struck down by the new mutant strain of the deadly bug.

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Ambulances queue outside London Royal Hospital as medics warn of 'breaking point'Credit: Getty Images - Getty

Ambulances lined up outside the hospital in WhitechapelCredit: @999London

Patients could be treated in triage tents - usually reserved for large-scale disasters, like terror attacksCredit: AFP - Getty

The triage tents are usually used in extreme cases which see a sudden influx of patients, like a terror attack.

Hospitals are on the brink of being overwhelmed as the super-infectious mutant variant of coronavius rips through the capital and the South East of England.

Such is the panic at London hospitals that bosses have requested several major Yorkshire hospitals take on Covid-19 patients, reports

The Royal Free in the capital has already decided to move its children's inpatients unit to another hospital to free up space for adult patients, covid and non-covid sufferers alike.

And an insider has warned January 4 will be the "zenith" of the crisis, reports .

It comes as leaked documents show Intensive Care Units are acting at 114 per cent capacity, and medics warned critical care equipment is running out.

The southeast was not far off, with ICUs at 113 per cent capacity.

In the east, units are currently running at around 100 per cent.

AMBULANCE QUEUES

But while there is an influx of patients at London hospitals, some are forced to wait in queues of ambulances outside because there is not the space to treat them.

On Tuesday evening a long line of ambulances were pictured parked outside Royal London Hospital.

Emergency medicine consultant Simon Walsh, who works in north-east London, said NHS staff are "exhausted" by the crisis.

Dr Walsh said: “Today, many trusts in London and the South East are effectively operating in a major incident mode.

If ventilation capacity is exceeded, horrendous choices will have to be made over those who live and die.
Claudia PaoloniNHS consultant anaesthetist

"They're having crisis meetings, they're calling on staff to come in to work if they're able to on their days off.

"They are dealing with queues of ambulances outside many emergency departments, often with patients sat in the ambulances for many hours until they can be offloaded into the department because there simply isn't any space to put them in.

"The physical space to admit patients is running out, staff are exhausted and suffering from the effects of depression and stress and burnout from simply overworking and not being able to get breaks, working in their days off.”

BREAKING POINT

NHS critical care doctor Dr Samantha Batt-Rawden tweeted last night no oxygen machines are left at one trust, with no beds left for some patients at their local hospitals.

And Claudia Paoloni, a consultant anaesthetist in the NHS and president of the HCSA told The Guardian: "“Our NHS just doesn’t have the beds to cope. Some areas will be overwhelmed in days.

"If ventilation capacity is exceeded, horrendous choices will have to be made over those who live and die."

She added: "A hospital may have to ask itself ‘can we do the cancer surgery today or not, as we only have limited beds and no spare intensive care capacity for emergencies if we use the last bed for a major cancer operation?’"

Christina Pagel, a member of Independent Sage and professor of operational research at University College London warned "things are as bad as they have ever been" - and are only going to get worse.

Hospitals are struggling to copeCredit: London News Pictures

A new strain in London has caused a huge surge in Covid-19 casesCredit: AFP or licensors

London A&E doctor's warning

A London A&E doctor has warned that the capital's hospitals are very close to becoming overwhelmed if coronavirus infection rates are not brought under control.

Dr Sonia Adesara said: "The hospitals are extremely busy - we have seen a massive rise in people coming in with Covid-19 over the past week and this is on top of an increase in the non-Covid cases we see at this time of year.

"Just like the first wave we are also suffering from staff shortages, staff are getting Covid-19 again and it is extremely difficult, the hospitals are very full."

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, she said: "The situation is untenable and I think we are very close to becoming overwhelmed."

Dr Adesara said ambulance queues are now commonplace as a shortage of beds means they are unable to offload their patients.

But she said compared to April, medical staff were getting much, much better and more experienced at treating the virus.

Over the weekend Queen Elizabeth Hospital in southeast London declared an internal incident over concerns on oxygen supplies.

the hospital called in extra staff and diverted emergency ambulance patients to King's College Hospital and St Thomas' Hospital.

A Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust spokesperson confirmed the incident was "a precautionary step due to the high number of Covid-positive patients we are seeing at the hospital".

They added: "We have been following our plan to cope with a second wave of Covid-19 and are working closely with hospital and healthcare partners in south east London.

“All our patients have received the treatment they need, including intensive care treatment for Covid-19 and oxygen therapy as required. We are continuing to monitor the situation to ensure that this remains the case.”

A number of hospitals in London have been forced to declare incidents in the past fortnight as coronavirus cases rise in the capital.

Two Kent hospitals have issued capacity warnings after an influx of Covid patients.

One was reportedly forced to treat patients in the back of ambulances, with another so full of people waiting to be seen ambulances were queuing for hours.

Medics have warned of cases rising at "unprecedented levels" as hospitals feel the strain with admission numbers matching the April peak.

Dr Andrew Lansdown, a consultant endocrinologist at the University
Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, said: "It's starting to sound a bit like a cliche but it really is true that these are unprecedented times, we really have felt stretched to the limit.