Covid: Southend hospital runs low on oxygen as Johnson warns of nationwide shortages

Hospitals have been told to dial down oxygen supply if they face shortages. Credit: PA

A NHS hospital in Essex has been told to limit oxygen supplies to patients as the area faces a shortage due to a surge in demand caused by Covid-19.

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust said in a letter to staff at Southend Hospital that the amount of oxygen used to treat patients should be reduced.

“We have reached a critical situation with oxygen supply,” the document, seen by the BBC, said.

“It is imperative we use oxygen safely and efficiently.

“All patients should have a target saturation of 88–92%. Patients with a saturation above 92% which are on oxygen should have their oxygen weaned within the target range.

“I can assure all that maintaining saturations within this target range is safe and no patient will come to harm as a result.”

NHS leaders have warned oxygen supplies were running low in some areas due to Covid-19 treatment.

Hospitals have been under immense pressure in recent weeks. Credit: PA

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned of nationwide oxygen shortages in some places, as coronavirus puts immense pressure on the NHS.

He said “we have a really tough fight on our hands” and there was a "race against time" to vaccinate everyone in order to protect the NHS.

Mr Johnson said there was pressure in intensive care units, ventilated bed spaces and "even a shortage of oxygen in some places."

Yvonne Blucher, the managing director of Southend Hospital, said: “We are experiencing high demand for oxygen because of rising numbers of inpatients with Covid-19 and we are working to manage this.”

Meanwhile, a doctor at a London hospital said colleagues had been asked to conserve oxygen levels to ensure they did not run out.

“We’ve been told to stagger breaks off of the non-invasive ventilation and make sure we’re aiming for correct O2 targets to conserve (it),” she said.

Chris Hopson, the chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents hospital trusts in England, said there was “huge pressure” on stocks because giving patients extra oxygen was a “key part” of coronavirus treatment.

He told the BBC there were a number of hospitals where this happened in the first phase of coronavirus and over the past few weeks “similar things have happened” elsewhere.

“This is the kind of problem that chief executives and trust leadership teams are having to solve day in, day out,” he said.

“If you (a hospital) push your oxygen to an absolutely critical level, then the thing that you can’t do is have the oxygen system break down… so effectively you will have to dial it down, in which case you will probably have to transfer patients to the nearest neighbouring hospital for a short period of time.

“I cannot tell you how much work has been done over the summer and autumn to ensure that people (hospital trusts) have been prepared for this… they knew they would come under pressure if there were to be further waves, as has now proved to be the case.”

England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty earlier warned that the next few weeks will be “the worst” of the pandemic for the NHS, with the UK not yet hitting the peak of the current wave of Covid-19 infections.