NHS England is to enter into a historic deal with the private sector to provide thousands more beds, extra ventilators and additional staff as the health service attempts to fight against the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus across the country.
The plan is expected to help the NHS deliver urgent operations and cancer treatments while also treating those infected with the virus. The deal includes the provision of 8,000 hospital beds across England, nearly 1,200 more ventilators, more than 10,000 nurses, over 700 doctors and over 8,000 other clinical staff.
In London, the worst afflicted region in the UK, it includes over 2,000 hospital beds, and over 250 operating theatres and critical beds.
Full story in The Independent, 21 March 2020
