COVID-19: UK's NHS to enter highest alert level

By Karim El-Bar

LONDON (AA) - Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) will move to its highest alert level from this midnight, due to a “serious situation ahead”, NHS England Chief Executive Sir Simon Stevens said at a news briefing on Wednesday.

The move to the highest alertness level will not be noticed by ordinary members of the public in their use of the health services, but behind the scenes the NHS’ governing body will take over to ensure the organization operates as expected.

NHS England was last in Level 4, the highest alertness level, at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, and moved down a level in July.

Steven said there were “22 hospitals’ worth” of coronavirus patients in England, and that there had been a “very substantial” rise in “desperately sick patients” in hospitals during October.

“In many parts of the country, we're now seeing more coronavirus inpatients in hospital and in intensive care than we saw in the first peak in April,” he said.

The NHS’ aim was to “minimize” the virus “spiraling out of control.”

“The facts are clear, we are once again facing a serious situation,” he said.

“This is not a situation that anybody wanted to find themselves in, the worst pandemic in a century, but the fact is that the NHS is here.”

Stevens added that Britain should “hopefully” get at least one coronavirus vaccine at the start of next year, and that the NHS was preparing to roll it out.

“In anticipation of that, we're also gearing the NHS up to be ready to make a start on administering COVID vaccines before Christmas, if they become available,” he said.

“We reached an agreement with GPs [general practitioners] to ensure they will be doing that, and we'll be writing to GP practices this week to get them geared up to start by Christmas if the vaccine becomes available.”