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The NHS does not have enough medics to staff beds in “surge hubs” for Covid patients being set up at hospitals around England, ministers have been warned.
The chief executive of NHS Providers, Chris Hopson, said that an “emergency staffing model” will be needed, with recently retired doctors and nurses and experienced volunteers called in if the additional capacity is needed.
It comes as Northampton General Hospital suspended visitors to protect the “wellbeing and safety of all our people, including patients and colleagues”.
The hospital management team said in a statement it had been a “difficult decision” and it was “fully aware of the impact suspending visiting has on our patients and those close to them”.
