LOCAL NHS staff have featured in a new hard-hitting national advertising campaign urging the nation to stay at home and reminding people of the ongoing impact of Covid-19 and the extreme pressures facing front-line workers.

The TV advert features the faces of patients who have Covid-19, as well as the NHS staff who are working around the clock to look after them at Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital, and asks: “Can you look them in the eyes and tell them you’re helping by staying at home?”

It launched on ITV and Channel 4 last Friday and further advertising will run across local and national newspapers, radio, digital and social media (see the advert on Page 38).

The impact of the second wave is still being seen in hospitals across the country with someone admitted every 30 seconds with the virus, and a quarter of those are under the age of 55.

There are currently more than 38,000 beds taken up in England by Covid-19 patients.

Last week, around 250 patients were being treated for Covid-19 at Basingstoke and Winchester hospitals – 100 more than at their busiest time during the first wave.

Alex Whitfield, chief executive of Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are caring for more patients with Covid than ever before.

“Since Christmas Day we have seen a rapid increase meaning we have needed to open a new Covid- positive ward every few days.

“The footprints of our critical care departments have more than doubled, and all our staff are doing everything they can to provide the best possible care to our patients.”

Mrs Whitfield said Covid-19 is the biggest national health emergency many of us will see during our lifetime, adding: “Lives are at risk and the pressure the NHS is under to provide care is real.

“Our staff, and other NHS staff across the country, are working around the clock to provide vital care for those with Covid-19 and other health conditions.

“We are pleading with the public to stay at home to look after each other and support our NHS staff so we can ultimately all play a part in saving lives.

“We hope that by having a film crew in here to hear how much pressure our hospital and staff are under, the public will get an understanding of what happens here every day.

“The threat is very real to us all.”

Visit gov.uk/coronavirus for more details about the pandemic.