The UK health system is so overwhelmed that a hospital is converting all its theaters for coronavirus patients, and nurses have panic attacks because they can't cope with the stress

• Footage from a London hospital shows frontline medics bracing themselves for a major influx of coronavirus patients.
• The BBC broadcast images and interviews from University College Hospital in London, where a vast proportion of its wards has already been converted to treat people infected by the virus.
• Despite plans to convert more, they "can't cope with a big spike," one medic told the BBC.
• During grueling 12-hour shifts in uncomfortable PPE, it's "not uncommon" for workers to suffer panic attacks, according to one nurse.
• The UK has reported 5,373 deaths from the coronavirus, and the reported figure of 52,301 infections could be an underestimate due to a lack of testing.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Footage from a London ICU shows how a UK hospital is being transformed in an uphill battle against the coronavirus, on wards so stressful that it's not unusual for health workers to get panic attacks.

So far, 5,373 people have been reported to have died from the virus in the UK. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is seriously ill with the virus.

Without widespread testing, the reported figure of 52,290 coronavirus cases is considered to be an underestimate. But one economist considers the country to be on a worse trajectory for coronavirus deaths than China.

London the UK's worst-hit area. By mid-March, the city was reporting an "explosion" in coronavirus cases and on March 19, one hospital had run out of critical care beds, the Guardian reported.

At University College Hospital in London, a public hospital in the country's National Health Service (NHS), most theaters are being converted to treat coronavirus, the BBC's Fergus Walsh reported.

All but two patients in the hospital's ICU have COVID-19, the hospital's head of critical care told the BBC.

The medic described the scene as "completely unimaginable" and warned: "We can't cope with a big spike. We just can't."

One nurse told the broadcaster that the demand on the hospital is unprecedented in her 23-year medical career.

"I've never seen anything like this, not even the London bombings," she said, referring to the UK's worst-ever terror attack in on July 7, 2005, which saw hundreds injured and 52 killed.

Patients with COVID-19 are kept alive by a combination of "oxygen, organ support, and amazing nursing, really," said the head of critical care.

But that work is taking its toll. The physical burden of 12-hour shifts, often wearing full PPE - plus the emotional toll of such a crisis - have made it hard for some workers to cope, medics told the BBC.

The nurse of 23 years said: "It's really hard, and some of our staff really can't cope with it."

"It's not uncommon for some of our staff to have had panic attacks, and just finding this so, so stressful. So we've really got to support people."

British people have been showing their appreciation by coming out onto their porches and balconies at 8pm on Thursday evenings and applauding and banging pans, in a weekly event dubbed "clap for our carers".

But the support the University College Hospital nurse asked for was different - for people to respect the danger of the virus and stay home during the UK's lockdown, which began on March 23.

As well as the burden of the job, medics are scared they will bring the virus home to their families, the head of critical care told the BBC.

The nurse added: "If people don't stay at home and they sneak out, this is going to continue to happen and our staff are going to be exposed for longer."

And get the latest coronavirus analysis and research from Business Insider Intelligence on how COVID-19 is impacting businesses.