Coronavirus: Families should start planning for how virus affects most vulnerable, warns top medic

Families needed to have an honest conversation about how Covid-19 could affect them

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People concerned about becoming seriously ill due to the coronavirus should begin planning for how the disease might affect them, a top medic has said.

Professor Dominic Wilkinson, a consultant neonatologist and Oxford University ethics professor, said that it was "crucial" families had an open and honest conversation about how the outbreak could impact those most at risk.

He also stressed the importance of planning for those who are middle-aged and otherwise healthy so they could manage their expectations around healthcare provision from an NHS already working "above its normal capacity".

Writing in the academic bulletin The Conversation, Professor Wilkinson said: "These conversations are to support our families and the doctors looking after us.

"They are crucial for people who are at higher risk of becoming unwell with the virus, for example, those who have a chronic illness or are older.

"They are also relevant for those who are middle-aged and otherwise healthy since the simple fact is that some of us will become life-threateningly ill."

Professor Wilkinson added that while NHS staff would ensure that every patient is cared for, some treatments may not be available or in short supply.

He added: "In the face of this crisis, doctors and nurses and healthcare teams in the NHS should and will do their utmost. Every patient will be cared for.

"But some treatments may have no chance of helping, they may be highly burdensome, unpleasant and invasive. Or even if they could be helpful, they simply may not be available."

The NHS now has access to 8,175 ventilators, including 691 from private hospitals and a handful from the Ministry of Defence.

However, it is estimated this number may not be enough and the government will decide in the coming days on how to plug the gap.

Professor Wilkinson adds: "These are intensely worrying times. It is hard to know what lies ahead for any of us. We should definitely hope for the best, but it is also important to have some conversations with our families now - so that we may all plan for the worst. Just in case."

It came as a health service chief warned that testing NHS staff for Covid-19 is now one of the "biggest issues that needs resolution".

Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, said hospital trust bosses had told the organisation they need to test staff.

NHS staff who test negative for Covid-19 are able to return to work more quickly and workers themselves have called for an increase in testing.

Mr Hopson tweeted: "It's striking how many trust CEOs are telling us today that staff testing is vital and they feel that it's now one of the biggest issues that needs resolution if they are to properly support staff in the way they want to, and they believe is appropriate.

"Trusts are losing a lot of staff due to numbers in vulnerable groups (e.g. pregnancy and over 70) and those with household cases having to self-isolate.

"This is having a significant impact on trusts' ability to provide the right quality of care at the front line."

Additional reporting by agencies