New variant Omicron has not led to significant hospital admissions, a Trust chief has told the BBC.

CEO Matthew Trainer spoke on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme on Friday about the virus and how it is being handled at King George Hospital in Goodmayes and Queen’s Hospital in Romford.

He said dealing with the variant had been “tough” but had not led to the significant hospital numbers and severe illness feared in December.

Mr Trainer attributed the vaccine to the situation. He said: “We’ve got the vaccine to thank for that. We weathered it better than I thought we might when looking at the modelling in December.

“It’s a relief the vaccine and treatments we’ve got now have made a real impact.”

He said while staff sickness had been “challenging,” the number have plummeted to seven per cent from last year’s 25 per cent figure.

He added: “Our staff rallied round, we had our critical care leadership come in overnight. Covid numbers are now falling and the vast majority of patients we’re seeing in critical care continue to be unvaccinated.”