Cambridgeshire front line ward sister urges people to stay at home as intensive care unit almost full.

Louise, a deputy sister at the hospital - which is run by North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust, said the intensive care unit had been running close to capacity 'for the past few weeks.'

In a video posted on the Hinchingbrooke Hospital and Peterborough City Hospital Facebook page, Louise said: "For the past few weeks your ICE has been running at almost 100 per cent capacity. We need your help to stop the spread of the coronavirus and reduce the burden on the NHS.

"Please stay at home unless absolutely necessary, if you do go out please wear your facemask correctly covering your nose and your mouth stay two metres apart from other people and remember to wash your hands regularly.

"Please don't forget Hands, Face, Space. Stay home, protect your NHS, Stay safe."

Last week a doctor working in intensive care in Peterborough spoke of the pressures facing the teams at the hospital due to coronavirus.Dr Coralie Carle said: " On my last clinical shift, our team looked after fifteen patients on one unit all with respiratory failure due to Covid19. The majority of these patients were being helped to breathe by a ventilator.

"This is not just a disease that effects the elderly: we have seen patients in their thirties and forties who have no other medical problems.

"As we did during the first wave, we have turned other ward areas into Intensive Care extension areas to cope with the increased number of patients requiring high level care."

So far during the pandemic there have been 162 coronavirus related deaths at Hinchingbrooke Hospital and 356 at Peterborough City Hospital. There are 22 patients currently on ventilators at hospitals run by North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust.