UK hospitals about to be flooded with 'tsunami' of COVID-19 patients: Indian-origin doctor

London — The UK's government-run hospitals are about to be flooded with a "tsunami" of really sick COVID-19 patients, an Indian-origin doctor here has said, sounding alarm that mistakes at the highest levels will result in a disaster.

Dr Guddi Singh, a paediatrician who has been drafted in to help adult patients of COVID-19, said there is huge anxiety in the National Health Service (NHS), over coronavirus and the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), BBC reported.

She said that the NHS, the UK's publicly-funded healthcare system, is about to be flooded with COVID-19 patients.

The government says it is increasing the capacity for extra patients and placing orders for PPE.

Singh said that mistakes at the highest levels will result in a disaster in the UK, the report said.

"The NHS is about to be flooded with a tsunami of really sick COVID-19 patients that we do not have the capacity to deal with and there is a huge amount of confusion around the use and availability of PPE," she said.

"Hospitals in London are overwhelmed, there is still a serious shortage of PPE. We have just been told to close our eyes when any patient coughs. We feel completely helpless," she quoted some of her colleagues as saying.

There is a massive lack of clarity in guidance from the high levels in NHS, she added.

The UK's health officials have said that life may not return to normal for six months or longer as the death toll reached more than 1,200. There are more than 17,089 confirmed cases in the country.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is self-isolating after testing positive for coronavirus, has written to every UK household to ask people to stay at home and follow the social distancing rules to fight the pandemic, warning them things will get worse before they get better.

There have been at least 715,204 cases including 33,568 fatalities in 183 countries and territories.