The crisis-hit NHS is facing a “perfect storm” of soaring staff absences and a huge rise in Covid patients. By Wednesday, the number of NHS trusts declaring major incidents had soared to 24. Exhausted ambulance crews are overstretched, with some patients waiting 24 hours for a vehicle. One union boss said: “We are nearly at breaking point. We are heading for the perfect storm. All the hospitals are full and we are seeing huge call volumes. One in 15 people in England now has the disease, according to the latest official research – up from one in 25 the previous week. Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: "Hospitals who have declared critical incidents are essentially reaching out to staff who are on leave, on rest days or even recently retired and asking them to come back. So the situation is desperate." The critical incidents have all been declared in recent days, while non-urgent operations have been axed at hospitals across north west England. Patients face 24-hour waits for ambulances ( Image: Daily Mirror/Andy Stenning) Some 17 hospitals in Greater Manchester have paused appointments for conditions not yet life-threatening, but a critical incident had not been declared. NHS… Read full this story
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