Coronavirus: NHS doctor fights for life on life support

NHS doctor fights for life: Ear, nose and throat consultant, 52, is on life support amid fears many more medics will catch coronavirus.

The 52-year-old ear, nose and throat consultant from the Midlands had been ‘fit and well’ but was last night on a life-support machine.

News of the medic’s plight came as NHS colleagues warned many more staff will fall ill – or even die – from coronavirus because of a chronic shortage of protective equipment.

Hospitals were scrambling to avoid meltdown amid a ‘tsunami’ of severely ill patients, many of them struggling to breathe.

And in a stark illustration of the desperate hunt for life-saving kit, health bosses have been forced to ask vets for ventilators designed for animals.

NHS chief executive Simon Stevens announced an ‘unprecedented deal’ which will see private hospitals hand over their entire England-wide capacity of over 8,000 beds and 1,200 ventilators to the health service. The NHS will pay ‘cost price’, so private hospitals will not make a profit.