As the National Health Service crisis deepens, over 20 hospitals in England have been forced to declare a ‘black alert’. NHS England classifies a black alert as a “serious incident” meaning the system is such under severe pressure that it is unable to deliver certain actions and comprehensive emergency care. At least 23 hospitals have been forced to issue the warning declaring that they cannot cope with increasingly overwhelming patient numbers, meaning that patient safety can no longer be guaranteed. The Guardian reports: Struggling hospitals have been forced to take highly unusual steps in order to manage a surge in demand for care. They include cancelling cancer operations, treating adults in children’s wards and even closing a birthing centre to help cope with a sudden influx of patients who need to be admitted for treatment. Hospitals are expected to come under even greater strain over the next few days as unusually cold weather sweeps across much of the country, which doctors fear could prompt a spike in serious breathing problems, among other conditions. University hospitals of Leicester NHS trust was under so much strain on Tuesday that it declared a “system critical incident” – even higher than a black alert [...]
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