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Local authorities in Essex are calling on the military to intervene to help deal with the growing increase in coronavirus cases there.
The guilty plea comes after a “major incident” was declared in the county whose health services are threatened to be overwhelmed by a significant increase in COVID-19 infections.
Harwich and North Essex Conservative MP Sir Bernard Jenkin confirmed that the authorities were asking the armed forces for help.
He said: “At this very moment they are submitting a request for military assistance to the civil authority.”
He explained that the authorities had made a request from ‘MACA’ (Military Aid to the Civil Authority) to help with “the construction of community hospitals, additional hospital capacity and with the support of the armed forces and in part with personnel from the armed forces. “.
“They would also like the military to help with the launch of the vaccine to accelerate that in Essex and help with testing in schools,” he added.
The county declared “major incident status” in response to “significant increased demand” on hospitals. It will allow local leaders to seek more support from the government, said the Essex Resilience Forum (ERF).
The heads of the Southend and Basildon hospitals also called for any clinical staff on annual leave to return to work immediately to ease the pressure.
The ERF, which is made up of members of the NHS, emergency services and local authorities, added that the number of patients in Essex receiving treatment for COVID-19 now it had risen to levels higher than those seen at the peak of the first wave.
All of Essex is at level four and the south of the county has some of the worst affected districts in England, with infections expected to increase in the coming days.
Intensive care and bed capacity are among the areas of concern, as well as staff illness and the ability to quickly discharge patients to safe environments.
Anthony McKeever, Executive Director of the Mid and South Essex Health and Care Partnership, said: “We are taking every possible action within the NHS and in the broader health and social care partnerships in Essex to limit the impact on the NHS and the system. general health.
“This involves using critical care capacity in other parts of Essex and the eastern region and identifying additional locations and capacity to assist with discharge of patients to reduce pressure on hospitals.”
He added: “Our strong working relationships mean that we can respond effectively to support our local communities.”
Mr. McKeever also paid tribute to his “fellow workers” who are “doing an incredible job under extremely difficult circumstances.”
Essex Police Chief Constable and Co-Chair of the Essex Local Resilience Forum, BJ Harrington, said: “Reporting a major incident allows us to seek further support from the government to address the severe pressures on the healthcare system due to COVID 19.
“The people of Essex have been great and are only calling 999 or going to ER in an emergency – we need this to continue because this will help protect the very limited capacity available in our hospitals.”
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‘Hospitals under immense pressure’
The county has the three highest COVID-19 infection rates in England. Brentwood is the highest, with 969 new cases registered in the seven days to Dec. 25, which is equivalent to 1,258.1 cases per 100,000.
That’s from 1,134.8 in the seven days through Dec. 18.
Epping Forest has the second highest rate, with 1,654 new cases during that period and an increase to 1,256 cases per 100,000. Thurrock, again in Essex, has the third highest spot, although the rate has dropped slightly to 1,181.6 per 100,000 with a total of 2,060 new cases.
It comes after it was revealed that England’s hospitals are now treating more patients than during the peak of the first wave in April.
According to NHS England, there were 21,787 patients in NHS hospitals in England at 8am on Tuesday, compared with 20,426 on Monday and 18,974 at the peak of the first wave on April 12.
The United Kingdom also reported another 53,135 coronavirus cases Tuesday, the highest daily total on record since the pandemic began.
