Concerns have been raised by a senior official in the NHS that children with illnesses unrelated to Covid-19 are going to hospital too late and coming to harm as a result, a leaked email seen by BBC Newsnight says.
-
A&E attendance numbers in England were down 29% from the same time last year.
-
A mother reported that she was waiting to be spoken to on NHS 111 for more than 60 minutes while her child "arrested" - medical terminology for the heart or breathing stopping. The child subsequently died.
-
Children coming to doctors with symptoms similar to Covid-19 were "more likely to have a non-Covid condition".
-
Doctor's concerned that they are not seeing the normal number of people with symptoms of cancer, stroke and heart disease
-
Dr Richard Brown, a consultant paediatrician at Addenbrooke's Hospital: "The important message that I want to get across today is that children who are seriously ill should present to their emergency department. We can keep children safe and will continue to do so if we receive these referrals," Dr Brown said.
Source: BBC: Coronavirus: Sick children hospital treatment 'hit' during pandemic - leaked email