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  • Boris Johnson has told the House of Commons there's no alternative to the four week locked down in England, which starts on Thursday.

  • Pubs, restaurants, gyms, non essential shops and places of worship will all be affected.

  • Some conservative MPs are strongly opposed to the measure.

  • They say it's not justified on that it will cause immense damage to the economy.

  • There'll be a parliamentary vote at Westminster on Wednesday.

  • But the prime minister warned that the NHS could be overwhelmed if no action was taken.

  • With medical staff having to choose who to treat.

  • Liverpool has the highest number off covert patients in hospital in the UK it's currently more than 460.

  • Our medical editor Fergus Walsh, cameramen Phil Edwards and producer Nicky Stastny have been given rare access to doctors and patients there.

  • What were you gonna?

  • This is what happens when a city loses its grip on coronavirus.

  • I've never experienced pressure.

  • That's bean even remotely like this.

  • I'm 58 now and I'm looking after patients that are my age or even younger than may.

  • The NHS risks failing the patients.

  • It's there to serve.

  • It is very depressing if you're out there if you need a new hip, if you're in pain.

  • If you can't walk.

  • No, we can't help you right now.

  • The covert intensive care unit at the Royal Liverpool Hospital is a full stretch.

  • Nothing organized medical teams worked nonstop to help patients struggling for breath, like Douglas, whose 73 a former bus driver on crane operator I'm assuming okay, And then I suddenly went downhill.

  • The sealed plastic hood he's wearing enables oxygen to flow into his lungs under pressure.

  • It's a bit cost Ra phobic, but it's doing the job.

  • That's all that matters to May.

  • He takes a dim view of those who downplay the seriousness of coronavirus.

  • All these people that go around saying it's a hope on, you know, it's just like a bit of a bad cold.

  • I mean, they need to get the head straight, because I have never, ever, ever been so ill in all my born days.

  • This is an absolute crippler.

  • Staff sickness levels off three times normal right now, happy with critical care now depends on nurses redeployed from theaters on on others like Marie, who've come out of retirement.

  • A lot of the NHS is working on goodwill.

  • Um, unfortunately, people are starting to get tired and exhausted now, so I don't know how much longer goodwill on its own is gonna run us along the corridor.

  • Another intensive care unit this reserved for non covert patients.

  • It's full.

  • I'm going to be struggling to look after patients who need intensive care who do not have coronavirus.

  • In the past week, around 10 critically ill patients have had to be transferred between hospitals in the region in the search for a bed were hanging by a thread.

  • It's quite tight.

  • Each time a new patient comes into the emergency department, we have to reshuffle, so we all feel that pressure 24 7.

  • This is winter plus plus.

  • Plus, People are right to say that these are pressure that occur every winter, but this time it's just a lot worse.

  • The trust isn't helped by its aging buildings.

  • A new hospital was meant to open three years ago to replace the Royal, and it's still not finished.

  • It's other big hospital.

  • Aintree University serves the north of the city in both.

  • Nearly all non urgent surgery has been canceled.

  • The staff are needed in critical care Normally at this time of day, all of these operating theaters will be busy on.

  • There will be a patient on the operating table having an operation.

  • Last month, nine urgent cancer operations had to be postponed, some at the last minute because there were no intensive care beds available.

  • Of course, it's devastating for the patient themselves if they've come in tow Hospital expecting tohave, potentially life saving cancer operation on the morning of the operation there told the operation can't go ahead.

  • That's devastating for the patient and for the staff looking after the patient.

  • Those cancelations are the exception.

  • Most cancer care is continuing as normal, much of it at this new center behind the Royal David has lung cancer.

  • This is his first round of chemotherapy.

  • None of his treatment has been affected by coronavirus.

  • Just being very fast on then.

  • Oh, may appointments non cancel that everything's gone to plant on.

  • There has been progress with co vid 19.

  • The chances of surviving have improved.

  • Ventilators are used more sparingly.

  • There are some proven drug treatments, but sometimes it's hard to focus on the positives when the patients just keep coming.

  • What we've seen here in Liverpool should serve as a warning to other cities.

  • Other communities across the UK that unless we keep coronavirus in check, then the NHS will come under extreme pressure.

  • The prime minister says a locked down in England is needed to prevent a medical and moral disaster on those on the frontline.

  • Are pleading with the public to follow the rules messages.

  • If he don't listen to us, If you don't adhere to those restrictions, you will harm your friends.

  • You will harm your family, your neighbors and you might even harm yourself.

  • The NHS is about people.

  • It's staff on the patients it serves.

  • It is a cradle to grave service for the beginning, on end of life asleep for people like Harry King and his wife and Keira Diane.

  • Hello, Sweezy.

  • Oh, you look nice and comfortable.

  • Yeah, Harry is 75.

  • He has late stage Alzheimer's disease on Kobe.

  • 19.

  • One cruel condition compounded by another.

  • Everybody knows how he came down thing.

  • Hi, Diane brings in old photos.

  • Harry in his twenties in the Army.

  • Memories of a happy life.

  • That's right.

  • That's right.

  • He's been a fantastic horsemen.

  • Dad.

  • Granddad!

  • All right, so it's hard, very hard.

  • Being married nearly 50 years and John anybody, we'll be doing a lot of things that we've enjoyed.

  • That's I think the fire sister is to him because it's our Sanders was not this bad when you came in.

  • You keeps asking going to go home, but we can't because of the oxygen.

  • Michael.

  • Come to see you soon, isn't he?

  • The couple's two grown up Children have bean toe hospital to say a final farewell to their dad, one family among the many thousands who face loss and grief in this time of coronavirus.

  • Fergus is with me such powerful testimony in the report there, Fergus.

  • I think it's fair to say there's a growing debate about the justification for the lock down in England Prime minister framing that in terms of the pressure on the NHS.

  • Yes and other government says unless England goes into lock down, than doctors will have to make hard choices about who to treat.

  • Now that, as you've seen, is already happening in Liverpool, it's acute hospitals by far the hardest pressed in the country For now.

  • Now, across the UK, there are roughly half the number of co vid in patients in hospitals, compared to the peak in April on roughly a third of the number of patients on ventilators.

  • But that doesn't tell the full story.

  • In the first wave, intensive care units were dealing almost exclusively with co bid patients.

  • People with other serious health problems simply stayed away from hospital.

  • Now that's totally different now.

  • Now we have all the usual demands on the health service, plus Cove it on.

  • We're going into winter not coming out of it.

  • But protecting the NHS by locking down comes with its own costs.

  • The impact on mental health on lively hoods on liberties.

  • Focus once again.

  • Many thanks.

  • Focus.

  • Watch.

  • There are medical editor.

Boris Johnson has told the House of Commons there's no alternative to the four week locked down in England, which starts on Thursday.

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