NHS anaesthetist Ed Patrick said that while ICU admissions have been “pretty much the same” over the last few months, that could soon change. It comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the situation with Omicron over Christmas is “extremely difficult” but no new measures are being imposed yet. Latest statistics show the UK has recorded a further 91,743 new coronavirus cases, of which 8,044 are confirmed cases of Omicron.
Dr Patrick said: “One of the things that is happening is people are wondering how it is going to change over the next few weeks.
“We’re wondering how it will effect admissions, but also staff shortages.
“It’s difficult to say what sort of cases we’ve had. That information doesn’t filter down to us.
“We get whether they are Covid positive, but we don’t know if it’s Omicron or not.
“The treatment is the same, but it would be helpful to know.”
Mr Johnson said yesterday that data on Omicron is being reviewed “hour by hour” and the Government is considering “all kinds of things,” including more restrictions.
It comes as the UK attempts to counteract the new variant by pushing for more booster jabs to be used.
More than one million vaccines were given on Saturday, in a record-breaking weekend for the booster jab rollout
Dr Patrick added: “What I would say to people who are unvaccinated is that if you end up getting Covid and coming into hospital you will have a cocktail of drugs to keep you alive – all of which have side effects.
READ MORE: EU green plans torn apart as Germany’s climate minister breaks ranks to defy Brussels
And Dr Patrick detailed when he is expecting to see a larger “surge”.
He added: “It’s mostly unvaccinated people I see in ICU, people who are vaccinated are there with other problems due to their immune system.
“We don’t know what is going to happen in the next few weeks when there is a worry about the surge of infections.
“There’s talk of that surge coming in January at some point.
“We are talking about planning for staff shortages. There is a lag between becoming infected, becoming unwell and needing hospital treatment.”