Warrington Hospital under huge pressure as it treats highest number of Covid patients since pandemic began

• Video report by Lise McNally

Warrington Hospital is currently under huge pressure as it treats its highest number of coronavirus patients since the start of the pandemic.

The hospital is currently treating 194 patients with Covid-19 and it's ICU unit is above its normal capacity, with the executive medical director saying the hospital is at a "critical time point".

Alex Crowe said that the hospital is "incredibly busy" but that cancer and urgent elective care will continue.

He said: "We are currently on an exponential curve within wave 3 of this Covid-19 pandemic.

"We are seeing incremental dramatic rises in the community and as a result of that, significant in-patient admissions at the hospital."

He added when asked about people who are not following the rules: "This pandemic is all of our problems. We are all connected and have a responsibility to see it through.

"I would reiterate the importance of adhering to national guidance to help our hospital and help healthcare workers in our hospitals, and outside of them, see through this third wave of the pandemic."

• Victoria Neville, ICU nurse at Warrington Hospital

Victoria Neville, an ICU nurse at the hospital said that she was breaking down in tears when she gets home from work.

She said: "We've had to put young people on ventilators, people who are my age, which is scary.

"Although people might not think covid is going to affect them, something like a heart attack or emergency surgery that might affect them, therefore they could require an intensive care bed for that reason. But the concern is, is there going to be those beds."

She added: "There's not much we can do really, we just have to need to take each shift as it is."

She said that coming off shift and seeing people not following the rules, or not wearing a mask in shops is tough.

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The news comes on the same day that councils in Cheshire called for tougher national restrictions.

Leaders of Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Warrington and HaltonCouncils wrote to the government saying that the messaging around the lockdown was ambiguous and needed to be clearer.

The councils wanted tighter restrictions around travel and the enforceability of mask-wearing indoors.

They added that the number of children that were entitled to be given a place at school was too high and that the list of essential workers needed to be revised.