Could the NHS be overwhelmed in two weeks?
The Story
The Times
3.9 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 12 January 2021
⏱️ 32 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Is the NHS just weeks from the toughest moment in its history?
Chief medical officer Chris Whitty has said the next few weeks will be the worst of the pandemic, and the mayor of London declared a major incident in the city on Friday. Today we speak to doctors on the frontline.
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Guests:
- Kat Lay, health editor, The Times.
- Dr Pushpo Babul Hossain, junior doctor in South London.
- Dr Christine Watson, intensive care consultant, Nottingham University Hospitals.
- Dr Adrian Boyle, consultant emergency physician and vice president, Royal College of Emergency Medicine.
- An anonymous respiratory consultant in South London.
Host: Manveen Rana.
Clips Used: Sky, BBC, NBC, CBS, ITV.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | A wave of optimism over the imminent delivery of vaccines has turned to fear. |
| 0:10.0 | For the first time seeing what's happening in London I felt genuine fear for what the next few weeks might bring. |
| 0:19.0 | The National Health Service is now in a race against time to vaccinate the vulnerable, |
| 0:25.4 | but the virus has a head start. |
| 0:28.7 | People need to understand that the new variant was an inevitable product of what was happening in this country. |
| 0:34.8 | What people have to realize that the only way to control this is to do it properly, |
| 0:39.7 | 24-7 as if you have the virus yourself. |
| 0:43.0 | Is the NHS near breaking point? |
| 0:47.0 | What would that look like? |
| 0:49.0 | If the worst of the pandemic is still to come, |
| 0:52.0 | how will the doctors and nurses on the front |
| 0:55.1 | line cope with the pressure? |
| 0:57.4 | You're listening to stories of our times from the Times and the Sunday Times. |
| 1:04.4 | I'm Manveen Rana. Today, is the NHS ready for the toughest moment in its history. A warning from all four chief medical officers that the health services are at risk of being overwhelmed within three weeks. |
| 1:31.0 | The next few weeks are going to be the worst weeks of this pandemic. |
| 1:36.0 | London hospitals are under extreme pressure. |
| 1:39.0 | This whole area will become a red zone. |
| 1:42.0 | Things are now getting critical. |
| 1:44.0 | This is going to be a significant crisis for the NHS |
| 1:48.0 | unless we take evasive action. |
| 1:51.0 | London has been declared as having a major incident. |
| 1:54.3 | The emergency services can't cope. |
... |
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