Exclusive: Four out of five UK intensive care consultants say their unit is stretched by shortage of doctors and nursesNHS intensive care units, which have played a vital role in the Covid-19 crisis, are so routinely understaffed patients are at risk of poor care, doctors working in them warn today. So it is a widespread problem”, said Dr Alison Pittard, the dean of the faculty, which represents intensive care staff. Critical care units, like the rest of the NHS, have been woefully underfunded with significant nursing and medical staff shortages. NHS England and the BACCN recently agreed that nurses in ICUs in England could look after two Covid patients at the same time during the second wave. The strain of understaffing puts on ICU staff also makes it harder to recruit and retain personnel, Pittard said.

Source: The Guardian November 22, 2020 15:06 UTC