Covid patients 'sicker during the second wave'

Patients in intensive care have been sicker during the second wave of coronavirus than they were during the first wave in the spring, a consultant has said.

Peter Matthews, a consultant on the intensive care ward at Morriston Hospital in Swansea, said although his team had seen fewer patients, they were in a worse condition.

“At the moment we are down to about 15 or 16 patients on the ventilator. We did have more than 20 over the weekend but unfortunately a fair number of our patients are dying this time around," he said.

Another consultant at the hospital said it was facing a "perfect storm" due to more patients, combined with decreasing capacity and fewer staff who were off sick with coronavirus.