London Jan 7 (BUS): British forces were deployed Friday in London hospitals struggling to deal with an “exceptional” shortage of staff amid the surge in COVID-19 cases fueled by the omicron variable.
The Defense Department said it is sending about 40 military doctors and 160 general service personnel to fill the hiring gaps created by National Health Service personnel who are either ill or self-isolating amid a spike in coronavirus cases in the capital.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said earlier this week that he hopes the country can “survive” the pandemic without further restrictions, even as he warned that the country faces difficult days ahead due to the highly transmissible omicron variant.
The military spread underscores the impact of the pandemic that has infected nearly 180,000 people in the country on Thursday alone on Britain’s health services, forcing many workers to stay home, according to the Associated Press.
Health service leaders said the military deployment has highlighted how the country is struggling to stay on top of the pandemic.
“We didn’t know this level of staff absenteeism before,” Chand Nagpol, chair of the British Medical Association’s board, told Sky News.
He said the health service faces pressure every winter, “but I don’t think anyone who has worked on the NHS has experienced this level of absenteeism for colleagues and we feel it in real time because doctors, nurses and health care workers having to cover their absent colleagues – and that adds pressure.” Extra exceptional.
Across England, hospitals are reporting “serious accidents” due to staff shortages and planned surgeries being postponed.
While the current military focus is on London, it could spread. Air Commodore John Lyle told the BBC that the military was still in discussion about more support for the NHS in other parts of the country.
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