and covid is adding to that. this year, though, there's another complication — the number of staff who are off because of the virus. now it's understood several hospital chief executives in england are saying their trusts are under the greatest sustained pressure they've seen. there are now more than 111,000 patients with covid in hospitals in england. that's up almost 70% in a week. i've spoken to staff who do find treating unvaccinated patientsl who are seriously unwell, i they do see that upsetting, particularly if, as from time to time, the patient says, i "i wish i had been - vaccinated all along." so, we're not here tojudge, - we're here to treat and we'll treat whoever comes and requires our care and our attention _ there are some early encouraging signs, though. i was talking to london chief execs last week. what they were saying is they were seeing some very concerning daily increases of the numbers of people coming into hospital — 9%, 15%, 9% on the 27th,