Treatment could be withdrawn from coronavirus patients and offered to those more likely to survive, which will cause "anger and pain", new guidance for doctors warned.
The British Medical Association’s (BMA) latest ethics advice said health professionals could be forced to make "grave decisions" should hospitals become overwhelmed with patients.
The document warns that decisions around rationing scarce resources, such as ventilators, could determine whether large numbers of patients will receive life-saving treatment or not.
It comes as the UK experienced its biggest day-on-day rise in deaths so far, with the government now facing increasing pressure over its Covid-19 testing policy.