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​NHS Desperately Urges People To Give Blood After Beast From The East

​NHS Desperately Urges People To Give Blood After Beast From The East

In a statement, the NHS explained that it 'urgently' needs donations ahead of the Easter weekend

Jess Hardiman

Jess Hardiman

The UK is preparing for potentially yet another offshoot of the 'Beast from the East', having been told that some areas could be hit by a third lashing across the Easter weekend.

But while we brace ourselves for that, it seems that the original Beast is continuing to wreak havoc in its own right - with its damaging effects being still felt by the nation's NHS.

The NHS has made an urgent appeal for blood stocks, which have apparently been left low as a result of the recent spate of bad weather.

In a statement, the NHS explained that it 'urgently' needs donations - particularly for O negative and B negative blood types - ahead of the forthcoming Easter period, which is also when donations tend to drop.

The statement read: "We urgently need people to donate at our donor centres before Easter and over Easter weekend. We especially need O negative and B negative donors.

"Donations drop at Easter and stocks are already low because of the recent bad weather.

"We are urging people to donate blood at our permanent donor centres. We still have extra appointments and walk-in slots available.

PA

"Thanks to the fantastic response from donors, our sessions in community venues are almost full, but we need more to make sure hospital patients get the blood they need."

Another installment of the Beast from the East is set to hit Britain over the Easter bank holiday weekend, meaning that while we didn't get a white Christmas at the end of last year, we may get a white Easter.

A BBC weatherman said: "We've been looking at the weather for the Easter period and it looks like it could turn cold again.

"Some computer models are suggesting that we are going to have a blast of cold Arctic air so obviously wind's coming in from the north.

"So, in this situation we do tend to get snow across northern Britain and there could even be wintry showers further south as well."

PA

The Met Office, meanwhile, has stressed that if we do get any bad weather over the Easter bank holiday weekend, it won't be 'anything on the scale' of the last two cold spells.

Met Office Chief Meteorologist, Frank Saunders, said: "It is important to point out that we are not expecting anything on the scale of the last two spells of unusually cold weather which brought significant and disruptive snowfall.

"Throughout the Easter weekend it will stay unsettled with showers or longer outbreaks of rain for most. There will be some sunshine at times as well though, with the best of any drier and brighter weather expected across the northwest."

Visit blood.co.uk or call 0300 123 23 23 for more information on blood donation in the UK.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Weather, UK News, Beast From The East, Blood, UK, NHS