A top intensive care doctor has promised that coronavirus patients will not die alone but with a healthcare worker "holding their hand".
Speaking to Sky News on Thursday, Dr Alison Pittard, the dean of the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine, addressed reports that people had been dying in hospital alone while their families were forbidden to visit virus-hit wards.
Her comments come as frontline healthcare workers continue to battle a growing number of coronavirus cases, which have nearly hit 30,000 in the UK while 2,352 people have died.
On being asked by presenter Kay Burley about end of life care, Dr Pittard said "There have been reports that patients have been dying alone and I would like to reassure the public that no person will die in hospital alone.
"They may not have their loved ones next to them, but they will have healthcare workers - both doctors and nurses - and other members of staff by their side holding their hands and making sure that they are not alone when they die."
Dr Pittard also spoke about the emotional toll that patients dying in intensive care is also having on NHS staff.
She said: "It takes its toll on everybody and my thoughts are with every family who have lost someone during this pandemic.
"It's heartbreaking for the families and it is heartbreaking for the staff as well."
Dr Pittard said the impact was felt more because normally in intensive care they are at least able to make sure that patients' families are at their bedside if they do die.
On bracing for the peak of the outbreak, she said that health workers have "no idea" whether they will be able to manage but the NHS will only cope with the peak if people stick to the Government's social distancing rules.
It comes as authorities continues to reiterate to the British public that they need to "stay home" to flatten the peak of the outbreak, which could see the NHS completely inundated.
Dr Pittard said: "We have no idea whether we will manage the peak or not and obviously we will do our absolute best.
"The most important thing that will have an impact on whether we will manage the peak or not is making sure that that peak is as low as possible and falls within our capacity."
She said that "every member of the British public" must also help to save lives by minimising the spread of the virus through self-isolating.
"The way that we can acheive that is to listen to the Government's advice. We all have a role to play," Dr Pittard continued.
"If we stay at home, we protect ourselves and we do not spread the disease among the public then we will be able to save lives."
Dr Pittard ended by reiterating that it is not just NHS workers who will save lives, but the British public if they stay at home.
Her comments come as authorities continue to confront rafts of people breaching the lockdown measures.
Public Health England medical director Yvonne Doyle revealed the “concerning” trend that the number of cars on the road are rising during Wednesday’s Downing Street press conference.
While public transport use across the UK has plunged below 20 per cent since March 1, there has been an “up-tick in traffic” over the past three days, Dr Doyle revealed.
The number of vehicles on the roads surged by 10 per cent between Sunday and Monday, Department for Transport statistics showed. It's the first daily increase in two weeks.
She and Business Secretary Alok Sharma repeated the importance of respecting movement-restricting measures to protect the NHS.
They stressed the best way to keep the health service afloat is to “avoid catching the disease yourself and avoid giving it to anyone else.”
Boris Johnson even tweeted on Thursday: “Yesterday’s data showed more people were using transport than in previous days.
"Please do not leave your house unless absolutely necessary. It really will save lives.”
The PM is currently leading the Covid-19 response from self-isolation in Downing Street after contracting the virus.
