West Midlands health chief predicts 27 January crisis peak for ‘struggling’ NHS

Joe Middleton
·2 min read
Professor David Loughton said the military will be arriving to help trusts in Birmingham and the Black Country next week (BBC)
Professor David Loughton said the military will be arriving to help trusts in Birmingham and the Black Country next week (BBC)

Covid-positive hospital admissions in the West Midlands are not expected to peak for another 10 days as "struggling" frontline doctors and nurses lose sleep dealing with cases, a hospital chief has said.

Professor David Loughton, chief executive of the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, this week let TV camera’s onto Covid wards to show the devastating toll the virus is taking on patients and staff.

He also said the military will be arriving in the region to help NHS trusts in Birmingham and the Black Country "next week".

Professor Loughton added: "The NHS is absolutely struggling, there's no question about that, and if we just keep breaking all the rules [we will] keep getting more and more people [in admissions.]

"Today's Covid rate is my waiting list for people waiting to go into intensive care in two weeks' time.

"I am predicting around about January 27, is going to be the peak."

Professor Loughton added that the pandemic is adversely affecting the mental health and well-being of staff.

He said: "The most difficult thing for staff within the NHS; nobody - but nobody - went to medical school, went into nurse training or came into the health service to watch people die.

"That wasn't what they trained for."

Professor Loughton added this was “not easy for NHS staff to deal with” and that even experienced consultants at his hospitals are “having trouble sleeping.”

He added: "There will be military personnel arriving next week within my organisation and they will be working under the supervision of senior clinicians and nursing teams and carrying out a variety of duties.

"I believe that is similar across the West Midlands conurbation."

He also said the opening of a second mass vaccination centre in the region was “imminent” following Monday's opening of the Birmingham Millennium Point venue in Dudley.

Read More

PM to lead Covid news conference

The science – and mutations – behind the emerging coronavirus variants

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • Is This Legal Strategy Trump’s Last Hope in Hush-Money Case?

    Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/GettyAs his criminal trial gets underway with opening statements and the presentation of the first prosecution witness, defendant Donald Trump’s defense lawyers signaled a “throw everything against the wall and see what sticks” strategy that may reflect a desperate attempt to find something– anything–that may appeal to a lone holdout juror.Indeed, the phrase “you only need one”–or some variation of that–seems to have become mantra among repor

  • Vincent Trocheck and Mika Zibanejad lead Rangers to 4-3 win over Capitals for 2-0 series lead

    NEW YORK (AP) — Vincent Trocheck and Mika Zibanejad each had a goal and an assist and the Presidents' Trophy-winning New York Rangers held on to beat the Washington Capitals 4-3 Tuesday night for a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series. Jack Roslovic and K'Andre Miller also scored for the Rangers, and Erik Gustafsson and Alexis Lafreniere each had two assists. Igor Shesterkin stopped 22 shots. New York, seeking its first Stanley Cup championship in 30 years, has won four straight and 12 o

  • Q1 2024 Quest Diagnostics Inc Earnings Call

    Q1 2024 Quest Diagnostics Inc Earnings Call

  • Q1 2024 Medpace Holdings Inc Earnings Call

    Q1 2024 Medpace Holdings Inc Earnings Call

  • Dow Jones Futures Rise After Market Rallies Again; Tesla Soars As Elon Musk Touts 'Affordable' EV, Robotaxi

    The rally attempt is gaining steam. Tesla soared as Elon Musk said "affordable" EVs will come in 2025 and touted robotaxis.

  • Suns vs TImberwolves Game Highlights

    Minnesota defeats Phoenix, 105-93, to take a commanding 2-0 series lead. For Minnesota, Jaden McDaniels led the way with a playoff career-high 25 points and 8 rebounds while aided by Rudy Gobert (18 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals) and Mike Conley (18 points, 4 assists) in the victory. Devin Booker finished with 20 points, 5 assists, and 2 steals while Kevin Durant added 18 points and 6 rebounds for Phoenix

  • Kawhi Leonard returns to the Clippers' lineup for Game 2 against Luka Doncic and the Mavericks

    LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kawhi Leonard returned to the Los Angeles Clippers’ lineup for Game 2 of their playoff series against Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks. Leonard received the loudest cheers of anyone in the team's starting lineup when he was introduced. He stole the ball from Kyrie Irving , but missed his first jumper in the lane in the opening minutes. Leonard came back after missing three weeks because of right knee inflammation. “He's done all the necessary things he has to do to get on

  • Drop-in youth center funding at risk

    Funding for drop-in youth centers is at risk.

  • Maduro announces return of UN rights office to Venezuela

    President Nicolas Maduro announced Tuesday that a United Nations human rights office would begin operating in Venezuela once again, after it was suspended and its staff ordered to leave in February. The change comes as Maduro is under fire at home and abroad over his leftist government's human rights record as he cracks down on dissent while seeking a third term in power.He has in particular drawn criticism for preventing a widely popular opposition leader from running against him in July electi

  • Suspect was 'targeting' Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass in home break-in, district attorney says

    LOS ANGELES (AP) — A 29-year-old suspect in a break-in at the home of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass last weekend was charged Tuesday with burglary and vandalism, and authorities said they believe he was “targeting” the mayor but did not know why. Ephraim Matthew Hunter, a Los Angeles resident, was charged with a felony count of first-degree residential burglary and a felony count of vandalism, Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón said. Hunter shattered a rear glass door early Sunday mornin

  • Q1 2024 LKQ Corp Earnings Call

    Q1 2024 LKQ Corp Earnings Call

  • Mercedes Just Unveiled the All-Electric G-Wagen. Here’s What We Know.

    The zero-emissions G 580 touts 579 hp and 859 ft lbs of torque, but the range estimate is modest at best.

  • Mercedes-Benz G 580 with EQ Technology - Full Image Gallery

    See every angle of the electric Mercedes-Benz G 580 with EQ Technology with our extensive photo gallery below. The models featured in the press images are European models, but the truck will arrive Stateside before too long;.

  • 2025 Mercedes-Benz G 580 with EQ Technology First Look: The all-electric G is here

    The 2025 Mercedes-Benz G 580 with EQ Technology is here, and it's the electric G Wagen we've been waiting on.

  • Top Plays from Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Phoenix Suns

    Top Plays from Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Phoenix Suns,04/23/2024

  • Timberwolves take 2-0 lead on Suns behind 25 points and ace defense from Jaden McDaniels

    MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jaden McDaniels scored 25 points for a career best in the playoffs and spearheaded another stifling defensive performance by the Minnesota Timberwolves in a 105-93 victory over the Phoenix Suns to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round series on Tuesday night. Mike Conley and Rudy Gobert each added 18 points to help the Timberwolves offset the smothering of Anthony Edwards by the Suns, who held the All-Star to 15 points after allowing him 33 in the opener. Edwards went 3 for 12

  • Why AP called the Pennsylvania 12th District primary for Summer Lee: Race call explained

    WASHINGTON (AP) — In her primary victory Tuesday in Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District, first-term Democratic U.S. Rep. Summer Lee not only far outperformed her lone challenger across the District, but she was also on track to far surpass her own win in the primary two years ago. The Associated Press called the race for Lee at 9:21 p.m. ET, when she led Edgewood Borough Councilmember Bhavini Patel, 59% to 41%, with more than half of the vote reporting. Lee was ahead in both vote-rich All

  • Migrants indicted in Texas over alleged border breach after judge dismissed charges

    EL PASO, Texas (AP) — A Texas grand jury indicted more than 140 migrants on misdemeanor rioting charges Tuesday over an alleged mass attempt to breach the U.S.-Mexico border, a day after a judge threw out the cases. No injuries were reported during the alleged breach on April 12 in El Paso, which authorities say began when someone in the group cut through a razor wire barrier. Mass arrests also followed a separate episode in the Texas border city in March. On Monday, a county judge had thrown ou

  • UPDATE 1-Trump meets with Japan's former prime minister Aso

    Former Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, a senior figure in the country's ruling party, met with Donald Trump on Tuesday, becoming the latest U.S. ally seeking to establish ties with the Republican presidential candidate. The 83-year-old Aso, who is currently vice president of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, entered Trump Tower in Manhattan on Tuesday evening and met with the former U.S. president for about an hour. "He's a highly respected man in Japan and beyond and somebody that I've liked and I've known through our very dear friend Shinzo," Trump said as he escorted Aso into the building, referring to the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

  • Witt cashes in on Guerrero error as Royals edge Blue Jays 3-2

    KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Bobby Witt Jr. delivered the go-ahead double in the fifth inning for Kansas City after a costly error by Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and the Royals' bullpen shut down Toronto the rest of the way in a 3-2 victory Tuesday night. Chris Stratton (2-1) minimized the damage when he inherited a bases-loaded jam from Michael Wacha in the fifth. He also took care of the sixth before John Schreiber handled the seventh and James McArthur breezed through the eighth