By NHS Consider Discharging Patients to Hotels
The NHS are considering plans to discharge patients into hotels, as Health Secretary Matt Hancock says it’s “impossible to know” how long lockdown restrictions might last across the UK.
Matt Hancock has said that the government would “look at all options” to relieve pressures on the NHS, with more than 35,000 coronavirus patients currently in hospitals.
He said: “There are huge pressures on the NHS and, as you’d expect, we’re looking to all different ways that we can relieve those pressures.”
One suggestion which the health secretary discussed was to discharge patients early to hotels or home to their homes in order to free up hospital beds.
Mr Hancock said: “We’d only ever do that if it was clinically the right thing for somebody.”
“We work very closely with the social care sector to make sure that capacity is available. But we look at all options.”
“This isn’t a concrete proposal by any means, but it’s something we look at.”
The government is aiming to offer 15 million of the most vulnerable people a first dose of a COVID vaccine by 15 February.
The health secretary confirmed the vaccination programme is still “on track” to meet that deadline set at the end of 2020.
Across the UK more than 2.8 million people have received COVID-19 jabs.
England’s deputy chief medical officer, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, dismissed suggestions the “two-metre rule” could be increased to three metres.
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