Hospitals feel the strain of Covid

THERE has been another slight drop in coronavirus cases in the Derbyshire Dales over the last week – but the number of patients in local hospitals is now higher than at the peak of the first wave and county levels are rising again.

The Derbyshire Dales is now the safest place in the county by some margin, with just 51 cases over the last seven-day period up to Monday, which is down slightly from 55 the previous week.

But as health chiefs start to weigh up whether Derbyshire can drop back to Tier 2, with an announcement due today, the countywide picture is not quite as rosy.

All-important hospital admissions data shows there are now nearly 300 Covid-19 patients in hospitals in Burton, Chesterfield and Derby, with 253 in beds at the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust. This is just above its first wave peak of 252 in early April.

Ashbourne North, Dovedale and Carsington have seen just five cases in the past week and the large Doveridge, Brailsford and Bradley ward has had seven. The smaller Ashbourne South ward saw seven cases.

The latest drop in Derbyshire

Dales cases puts the rate per 100,000 population at 70.5 – substantially lower than the county-wide rate of 145.8, which is rising steadily.

While hospital admissions are rising, the numbers of Covid-19 patients is still where it was during the height of the second wave in midNovember. Hospital staff in the county are rolling out the Pfizer and Biontech Covid vaccine to hundreds of those at most risk from the virus and health chiefs and politicians are hoping this will make all the difference over winter.

They are also urging against early celebrations over the vaccine and say residents should remain cautious, with the vaccine rollout to take months to get through those most at risk and with the NHS already under pressure.

As of Monday, there were 127 Covid-19 patients at the Royal Derby Hospital, up from 100 last week. Eight are in intensive care.

Royal Derby peaked in November’s second wave at more than 160 and its intensive care peak came in April’s first wave with nearly 30.

Gavin Boyle, chief executive at the Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We’ve seen an increase in the number of Covid-19 inpatients over the week, following a period where the numbers had been steadily falling.

“We now have around 250 Covid-19 patients in the trust, which is about the same level as at the peak of the first wave. We’re also seeing significant numbers requiring intensive care.

“One of our challenges is protecting patients from infection while they are with us, so our chief nurse Cathy Winfield is writing to all staff about ac a colleague charter that outlin lines the commitments we all ma make to keep our workplaces an and patients safe alongside ‘H ‘Hands, Face, Space’.”

Mr Boyle warned in his weekly blog: “The Covid-19 Tiers get reviewed on Wednesday and I’m sure many of you will be hoping t these get relaxed. Given the p pressures on the NHS and the rates of infections in the co community, this may be difficu cult to do at this time.

““I’m an optimist at heart and we do have cause to hope that at some point in 2021 we’ll move to something approaching normal.

“But as they say, the darkest hour comes before the dawn, so we should make no mistake that the darkest hour is upon us. This is no time to relax our vigilance – remember to follow the infection control rules and the basics of Hands, Face, Space.”

This is no time to relax our vigilance – remember to follow the infection control rules.

Gavin Boyle, pictured