The National Health Service has reserved capacity at several private health care providers in England to handle a possible further surge in patients afflicted by the highly contagious Omicron strain of the coronavirus, and is asking hospitals to find locations such as gyms to expand capacity.
Under the three-month deal with 10 private hospital groups, routine services at the private facilities would be suspended to make space if Omicron causes unsustainable levels of hospitalization or staff absences at NHS facilities, NHS England said Monday. Throughout the pandemic, the NHS has relied on support from the private sector to cope.
The deal also allows for a wider range of NHS patients to be sent to private health care facilities for treatment such as some cancer surgery that isn’t currently available under existing deals with the private sector.
Separately, NHS hospitals have been asked to identify spaces such as gyms or education centers in order to create “super surge” wards.
There are currently over 16,000 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in England, a substantial increase from mid-December when around 6,000 people were in hospital with COVID-19. An average of over 35,000 NHS England staff were absent last week, a level not seen since January 2021, reported the Guardian.
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