Weston General Hospital is one of many hospitals across the country that are bringing in the military to assist the NHS tackle the worsening covid crisis.
The use of the armed forces in our local hospital comes as the government's mishandling of the pandemic is called further into question as it was announced yesterday that their were 1610 deaths in the UK, the highest daily record so far. It was also announced that the the 7 day average of deaths as a result of covid now places the UK with the worst death rate in the world.
Armed forces personnel will be deployed to the Bristol Royal Infirmary and Weston General Hospital to support NHS workers and treat patients. This, as coronavirus cases in the South West continue to rise. The number of cases per 100,000 people in the region is currently 349.7, which is higher than it was two weeks earlier.
The decision to call on the military to assist the NHS comes amid a warning from health bosses that Covid-19 cases in the South West are not expected to plateau for another few weeks.
A spokesperson for University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust confirmed the military has been drafted in to support staff during the second wave of the pandemic.
“Many trusts around the country, including the wider South West, are welcoming military staff from today to provide support where it would be of most benefit, and this includes our Weston and Bristol sites,”
The NHS have also confirmed the deployment of the armed forces to local hospitals saying; "The NHS is grateful to the many military personnel working in hospitals in the South West, alongside doctors, nurses and others who have returned to the NHS front line as well as the tens of thousands of St John volunteers working across the country. The NHS has 50,000 more staff now working in the health service than a year ago all working round the clock to respond to unprecedented pressure on the NHS.”
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