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Surging cases of coronavirus has caused Essex hospitals to declare a 'major incident' as health teams struggle to cope.

Local authorities made the announcement in response to a "significant growing demand" on hospitals across the hard-hit county, the Essex Resilience Forum (ERF) announced.

The ERF, made up of members of the NHS, local authorities and emergency services, added the number of patients in Essex being treated for Covid-19 had now increased to levels exceeding those seen at the peak of the first wave.

Cases are particularly high in mid and south Essex, and infections are expected to rise even further in the coming days, reports Sky News.

Critical care and number of available beds are areas of concern, as well as staff sickness and the ability to discharge patients into safe environments quickly.

Anthony McKeever, executive lead for Mid and South Essex Health and Care Partnership, said: "We are taking every action possible within the NHS and across the wider health and social care partnerships in Essex to limit the impact on the NHS and the wider health system.

"This involves using critical care capacity elsewhere in Essex and the eastern region and identifying additional locations and capacity to assist with the discharging of patients to reduce pressure on hospitals."

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He added: "Our strong working relationships mean we are able to respond effectively to support our local communities."

Mr McKeever also paid tribute to his "hard-working colleagues" who are "all doing an amazing job in extremely difficult circumstances".

Chief Constable of Essex Police and co-chair of the Essex Local Resilience Forum, BJ Harrington, said: "Declaring a major incident enables us to seek further support from the government to address the severe pressures which the health system is under because of COVID-19.

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"The people of Essex have been magnificent and are only dialling 999 or attending A&E in an emergency – we need this to continue because this will help protect the very limited capacity available at our hospitals."

The county has the three highest infection rates in all of England, with Brentwood at the highest with 969 new cases in seven days to December 25, equivalent to 1,258.1 cases per 100,000.

Epping Forest has the second, with 1,654 new cases over the same period, relating to 1,256 cases per 100,000 people.

Thurrock is listed as the third, with 1,181.6 cases per 100,000.

The news comes after it was revealed England's hospitals are now treating more patients than during the peak of the first wave in April.

• NHS
• Coronavirus

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