UK: Military troops deployed at London hospitals due to staff shortage amid Omicron surge

Amid the surge of hospital staff shortage, military troops are being sent to the hospitals in London to provide assistance for dealing with the spike of COVID-19 hospitalisations. As the 'highly mutated' Omicron variant is rising in the United Kingdom, more health personnel have been falling sick, leading to staff shortage. Thus, 200 troops have been deployed in the hospitals of London.

According to the Ministry of Defence, 40 of the 200 soldiers engaged are military medics who will assist NHS professionals in taking care of patients. The remaining 160 soldiers, who do not have medical expertise, will check in patients, ensure stockpiles are maintained and will do other basic inspections, The Guardian reported. 

This deployment came after Prime Minister Boris Johnson stated this week that the British government has planned to "ride out" the newest wave in England without imposing any additional restrictions. However, he did accept the fact that Omicron will "temporarily overwhelmed" sections of the NHS. 

The troops will be dispatched in 40 teams which will comprise 5 people each

Furthermore, some of the military troops have already started working, and they will provide support to the NHS in London until the end of January. The troops will be dispatched in 40 teams which will comprise 5 people each.

In the five people team, there will be one military medic and four support staff, and they will be placed in zones where there is the highest requirement, as per the Independent. In addition to this, until the end of March, 32 military co-responders will be sent to help the South-Central Ambulance Service, cooperating with the paramedics. 

Following record levels of staff absenteeism, Chris Hopson, the chief executive of the hospital group NHS Providers, expressed gratitude for the help provided by personnel from all three armed forces. He argued that their presence has highlighted the degree of NHS understaffing.  

"The fact that we need to call upon army medics and general duty personnel at all underlines the sheer scale of the workforce challenges the NHS is facing," citing Hopson, The Guardian reported. Hospitals in other parts of England, which are also witnessing a surge in COVID admissions, may also seek military assistance, according to Hopson. 

UK COVID tally

The announcement came as the nation has reported a total of 179,756 COVID-19 instances on Thursday, with the number of individuals affected with the Omicron strain continuing to rise at a rapid pace. As per the most recent figures, which include infections detected through testing, the UK COVID tally for the last seven days is 1,272,131, up 29% from the previous week. As not all cases are detected by the testing procedure, the true number of infections is believed to be much higher. 

Statistics also revealed that there are 17,988 COVID-19 patients in England's hospitals, up from 15,659 the day before. Around 231 people died within 28 days after a positive COVID test being recorded in the UK on Thursday. 

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