Coronavirus survivor describes time in ICU and what it could be like for Prime Minister Boris Johnson

A coronavirus survivor has described his time in intensive care as the Prime Minister prepares to spends his second night on the unit.

Photographer Jules Annan, from Cheltenham, has been in the town's general hospital for three weeks.

He was on oxygen in the high dependency unit and is now recovering on a ward, from where he recorded this video for ITV News West Country.

Jules describes how isolating it can be not seeing any visitors and especially close family.

  • WHAT IS AN INTENSIVE CARE UNIT?

Intensive Care Units, or ICUs, are specialist areas that provide treatment and close monitoring for patients who are too seriously ill to be cared for in other parts of the hospital. They have specially trained staff providing one-on-one care using sophisticated monitoring equipment for example to measure oxygen levels in blood.

COVID-19 can affect a patient's breathing. ICUs have equipment that can help.

The most common is CPAP, or continuous positive airway pressure machines. They use a hose and mask to deliver a steady stream of pressurised air to keep airways open. However, if the patient's condition worsens and they can't breathe on their own a ventilator might be needed.

What's known as invasive ventilation involves sedating the patient before a tube is guided through the mouth into the windpipe.

This is not to treat Covid-19 itself, but to support the person's vital organs and keeping them alive whilst their body fights the infection.