THE NHS is facing its biggest ever crisis, medical professionals and unions warned today, with hospitals at risk of being swamped by coronavirus admissions.

England’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty said that the NHS was facing its “most dangerous situation” in living memory.

Tory cuts have left the NHS short of about 80,000 staff — including 40,000 nurses — and staffing levels are worsening as nurses, doctors and ancillary staff succumb to the virus.