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Coronavirus: Can the UK Cope? Is the big question being asked by UK residents

By Euro Weekly News Media • Published: 11 Mar 2020 • 6:50

Coronavirus: Can the UK Cope?
Medical experts in Britain have warned the NHS could come under intense pressure during a coronavirus epidemic. Such pressure will be on critical care beds.
Mininsters have accepted that the outbreak will spread in a “significant way”, meaning more beds and space will be needed.
So can the NHS cope with the increase in demand?
Infectious Disease Units are ready and available at 30 hospitals in the UK which can isolate patients at any given notice. Five of those are specialist infection centres in England – The Royal Free and St Thomas’, in London, the Royal in Liverpool, Royal Hallamshire in Sheffield and Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle.
Nearly all of the 319 confirmed cases of the disease were taken to these centres which are capable of caring for more than 100 patients at one time.
Following China’s experience, Public Health England say one in every 20 coronavirus patients could need critical care.
But how many critical care beds does the NHS have?
Currently NHS England has 4,048 adult critical care beds – around seven beds for every 100,000 people compared to the most contaminated country Italy, which has more than 12 beds per 100,000 people, while Germany has more than 29 beds per 100,000 people.
In Europe as a whole, there are 11.5 critical care beds on average per 100,000 head of population.
However, alarmingly for NHS England, these care beds run between 70-80% of occupancy at any one time whilst the bed fill rate for Northern Ireland and Wales was estimated to be at least 95%, while Scotland was 84%.
On Monday, University Hospital Southampton closed its surgical high dependency unit to new admissions after a staff member tested positive.
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