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Dr Tom Black, head of the British Medical Association’s NI wing, also said that he has written to the health minister requesting that the law be changed so doctors are not vulnerable to lawsuits stemming from their struggles to keep on top of Covid-19.

Dr Black was speaking just as the Department for Health prepares for what will be its 100,000th positive coronavirus test result, due possibly sometime this week.

The figures for Saturday (the latest available) show Northern Ireland is teetering on the brink of this grim six-figure milestone, with 95,361 individuals having tested positive for Covid-19.

With the last daily increase in positive tests sitting at 822, it could be the case that the 100,000-mark is reached by week’s end.

Dr Black said: “Speaking to members I know they will as always do their best for patients, but many of them have told me that they are already exhausted and deeply demoralised.”

He also set out his case for better legal protection for his members.

He is calling for “emergency legislation to be put in place that will protect doctors and nurses from ‘inappropriate’ legal action when dealing with circumstances outside their control”.

Specifically, he wants this to apply “in the event that doctors are having to consider prioritising patients for treatment”.

Dr Black said that “many of our members are deeply worried about the coming weeks”.

He continued: “The pressure we are under at the minute is widespread and we are likely to see whole system issues over the next few weeks where it is not just one doctor or nurse struggling but the whole team who will be jointly facing challenges and trying to overcome obstacles.

“Health care workers will do their best in a very difficult situation, where many decisions in this pandemic were made too late.

“I have no doubt that when we come to review the way we have handled the pandemic this phase will stand out as one where we could have planned better.”

He also had this to say on the subject of vaccines: “There is no doubt the news about the vaccines and the rate at which they are being given out here is good news but I would strongly caution against people seeing this as a silver bullet.

“People need to get a second dose before they have optimal immunity and Covid-19 is still highly prevalent in the community. There seems to be a sense in some quarters that ‘it’s all over’ but that is very much not the case.”

The BMA also cited the following statistics to support its statement about doctors being under stress:

• 47% of respondents to a BMA internal survey “said they were coping but were unlikely to be able to continue indefinitely”;

• 46% said they were “not able to give care to the standard they would want”;

• And 65% “anticipated that their workload would increase significantly in this second wave”.

However, it should be borne in mind that only 359 doctors out of a membership of roughly 5,000 responded to the survey (something which was likely to amplify the negative outcomes of the poll, since people who are faring better may be less bothered about responding to the survey).

In addition, the survey results date back to mid-December (although the BMA is going to re-run the survey this week).

The Department of Health, as of 10am yesterday, said the number of coronavirus deaths stood at 1,606, up by 25 since Saturday.

In all, 995 of those deaths have been in people aged 80 or over. Meanwhile, 534 were aged 60 to 79, while the number of fatal patients younger than 60 was 77.

On Friday, the NI Statistics and Research Agency said Covid-related deaths had passed 2,000, although its criteria for counting Covid deaths is less strict than the department’s.

Doctors ‘feeling strain’ as NI Covid cases climb towards 100,000