Doctors at overflowing London hospitals say they are having to choose who gets life-saving critical care as a new highly contagious strain of the coronavirus ravages the UK.
“Sadly, some hospitals are now forced to follow . . . emergency triage of all patients requiring critical care,” Dr. Katharina Hauck, of Imperial College of London, told the Daily Mail.
“Applying this guidance effectively means that patients under the age of 65 who are not frail will be prioritized over elderly and frailer patients for critical care. Frail patients would be cared for in general wards with less intensive care.”
More than 7,000 patients are currently hospitalized in London, according to The Sun. The number of people on ventilators has almost doubled since Christmas.
The surge is being fueled by a new variant of coronavirus which emerged in the UK in September, and is believed to be 70 percent more transmissible than earlier strains of the disease.