T he number of hospital trusts on a critical alert level has increased to 24, as health leaders warned the NHS needs support to “get through this extremely challenging period”. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said a further four hospital trusts, taking the number up from 20, had declared critical incidents as the health service confronts a wave of Omicron infections. He told Sky News it was “not entirely unusual for hospitals to go critical over the winter” but accepted that there are “very real pressures”. With the NHS facing staffing and capacity struggles, Mr Shapps defended the Government’s decision to not go further than Plan B restrictions for England. The figure is the highest number since February 19 last year, although far below the peak of almost 40,000 in January 2021.

Source: The Times January 06, 2022 23:07 UTC