With a Spanish nurse in Madrid the first known person to have contracted Ebola outside of Africa, the deadly disease has made another step closer to the UK.

But if the worst were to happen, and someone was to be diagnosed with Ebola in this country, or even Suffolk and Essex, how would our hospitals react?

A spokesman for West Suffolk Hospital said: “We already have stringent infection prevention procedures in place and are following specific guidance around Ebola which has been issued by the Department of Health.

“We have also developed and tested a plan in case someone with symptoms comes into our emergency department, which would see them isolated immediately and, if a diagnosis was confirmed, transferred to a specialist centre for treatment.”

Grant Crawshaw, head of infection control at Ipswich Hospital Trust (IHT) said: “Staff working in the emergency and admission areas have been provided with specific guidance facilities and equipment.

“Relevant information related to Ebola risk is fed to staff in these areas. Areas for managing a case of Ebola have been defined. Other access points including phlebotomy services have also had instruction on managing a potential case of Ebola.”