A London hospital was totally unprepared when a suspected Ebola patient walked into A&E, it was claimed today.

Health authorities have carried out high-profile drills in a bid to show that Britain is ready for the feared arrival of the disease.

But an insider at Lewisham hospital said the response when a potential case walked into casualty on Saturday night shows the reality of the situation is much worse.

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A man walked into Lewisham hospital with suspected Ebola on Saturday night and was put into isolation - but an insider says he was allowed to use a communal toilet and even received visitors

The incident came on the same day as the NHS carried out a training drill on how to deal with the outbreak (pictured at Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary)

It was reported today that a man arrived at the hospital fearing he had the deadly virus after travelling to Britain from Sierra Leone two weeks ago.

But a source told The Sun some staff refused to go near the man, who was reportedly allowed visitors and used a communal toilet.

The insider said: 'The hospital is unprepared. Staff are panicking and scared for their safety.'

The man - who was later found not to have the virus - was not transferred to the specialist Royal Free Hospital, which is the only hospital in Britain equipped with a fully 'ebola-proof' isolation unit.

The source claimed hospital staff only have 'aprons, masks and flimsy surgical gloves' rather than the bio-protection suits used in the drill.

Reports of the incident contrast with the well-organised response shown in a training exercise carried out on the same day.

In the NHS drill, an actor feigned collapse at a shopping centre in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, after telling passers-by he was not feeling well.

He was taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle by an ambulance crew equipped to deal with an Ebola case, where he was put into an isolation unit.

An actor used as a patient in the drill in Newcastle (pictured) was transferred to the specialist Royal Free Hospital in London - but a source in Lewisham said this did not happen in a suspected case on Saturday

Staff in Hillingdon hospital in Uxbridge, west London taking part in the national Ebola exercise. Staff in Lewisham have reportedly been left with only masks, aprons and gloves to deal with the disease

Lewisham hospital - which has found the man does not have Ebola - say worried staff are being supported

The 'victim' was then transferred 300 miles to the Royal Free Hospital in north London, as planned.

The exercises were announced days in advance – but the Department of Health has said 'key people' at the hospitals involved had been given only a few hours' notice that they would take part.

A spokesman for Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust said: 'It's important to stress that we did follow robust and established systems that are in place to manage and care for people with suspected infectious diseases.

'Following a clinical assessment and advice from the Imported Fever Service Unit, the patient was identified as "low risk" for Ebola. They were always treated in isolation and all staff wore appropriate protective clothing.

'As a low risk patient, they were allowed to see a visitor under controlled conditions, meaning the visitor was given protective clothing for the duration of the visit. Tests have confirmed that the patient does not have the Ebola virus.

'We understand that cases like this can be alarming for staff, and it's unfortunate someone has raised concerns publicly when the Trust did follow best practice guidelines.

'We will be speaking to staff to remind them of our protocols and procedures for infection control and to encourage them to let us know if they need any additional support.'

British nurse Will Pooley was the first Briton to contract the disease but was successfully treated in the UK

He was flown back to the High Secure Infectious Disease Unit at The Royal Free Hospital (pictured) in August

The Ebola outbreak is thought to have started in Guinea in December last year and deaths from the virus rose rapidly in West Africa this summer and now top 4,000.

The World Health Organization today called the Ebola outbreak 'the most severe, acute health emergency seen in modern times'.

It added that economic disruption can be curbed if people are educated so they don't make any irrational moves to dodge infection.

WHO Director-General Margaret Chan, citing World Bank figures, said 90 per cent of economic costs of any outbreak 'come from irrational and disorganised efforts of the public to avoid infection.'

WORLD 'ILL-PREPARED TO RESPOND', SAYS HEALTH OFFICIAL World Health Organisation director-general Margaret Chan said the Ebola outbreak has proved 'the world is ill-prepared to respond to any severe, sustained, and threatening public health emergency'. In a statement to a regional health conference in the Philippines, she said: 'I have never seen a health event threaten the very survival of societies and governments in already very poor countries. 'I have never seen an infectious disease contribute so strongly to potential state failure.' Advertisement

'We are seeing, right now, how this virus can disrupt economies and societies around the world,' she said, but added that adequately educating the public was a 'good defense strategy' and would allow governments to prevent economic disruptions.

British nurse Will Pooley became the first Briton to contract the virus after working as a volunteer in Sierra Leone, one of the worst-hit countries.

Mr Pooley was flown back to Britain on August 24 and recovered after being treated in an isolation unit at the Royal Free Hospital.

London mayor Boris Johnson has admitted that he expects Ebola to come to Britain soon and says he fears the disease will probably hit the capital first.

'I have little doubt that eventually there will be a case of Ebola in this country and probably in this city,' he said, adding that it was impossible to blood test everybody coming into the country.

Thomas Eric Duncan became the first person to die of Ebola in the United States last week.

The 42-year-old Liberian's body was incinerated alongside items that were feared contaminated by the virus in Texas on Friday.

Since Mr Duncan's death, it has emerged that a female nurse who treated him has become the second person in the country to test positive for the virus.

British man Colin Jaffray was suspected of being the first UK citizen to be killed by Ebola after he died on a business trip to Macedonia last week.

But health officials in the eastern European country have since said the 58-year-old, from Royston, Hertfordshire, did not have the disease.

Ebola has killed 4,000 people in western Africa this year, with burial teams in Liberia struggling to cope