Manchester to run out of intensive care beds ‘within days’
Operating theatres in Greater Manchester could be transformed into makeshift intensive care wards from next week due to a surge of coronavirus patients, a leaked report claims.
The number of intensive care patients in the region could hit 371 by the end of November – 100 above capacity. During the first wave admissions peaked at 226 on April 14.
With more and more patients coming in, hospitals could be force to carry out ‘surge’ plans, which could see doctors and nurses being sent to closed operating theatres refashioned as ICUs.
The measures are expected to lead to delays in surgeries and cancellations of procedures.
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Plans have also been drawn up to move patients around the county to help ease the load on particular hospitals, according to the leaked report seen by the Independent.
Manchester’s NHS Nightingale Hospital is currently being prepared to take non-coronavirus patients who are almost ready for discharge to free up space in the coming weeks.
The report says most of Greater Manchester’s hospitals have already exceeded Covid-19 patients take up 20% of their total bed capacity, with the figure expected to rise to 30% within weeks.
One intensive care doctor said bed use has been rising ‘across the board’ and warned the situation in the region ‘should be a canary to other regions as to what to expect’.
The report suggests Greater Manchester is approaching a worse case scenario trajectory and has been since the start of this month.
If this continues, the region could see 2,975 Covid-19 patients in hospitals by November 30, taking up 60% of the county’s 4,800 beds.
The document also warns of up to 100 deaths a day in the area by the beginning of December.
It adds: ‘Most trusts (except Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust) have breached 90 per cent ICU bed demand and they are about to exceed the full capacity next week.’
However the report also says admissions to Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust had fallen in the week to October 26, indicating ‘the curve might be flat in coming weeks’.
Greater Manchester was placed under the most severe tier three lockdown restrictions on October 23, following a fierce 11-day standoff with Downing Street over central Government funding.
Several boroughs in the region are now hitting record infection rates, with 693.34 per 100,000 people in Oldham as of Sunday.
The town recorded 1,644 new cases of Covid-19 in the week ending October 25, the highest in the county, the Manchester Evening News reports.
Wigan was also struggling with an infection rate of 683.4 cases per 100,000 of the population last week.
A further 16 people died with coronavirus in Greater Manchester’s hospitals yesterday, bringing the region’s hospital death toll to 2,636.
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