So far, so good as Covid levels fall
IT is a case of “so far, so good” in our hospitals as lockdown easing continues, Covid-19 patient levels continue to fall and community infection rates drop.
There are 21 Covid-19 inpatients at the Royal Derby Hospital, Chesterfield Royal Hospital and Queen’s Hospital in Burton – down from a peak in January of more than 700.
This has spurred Chesterfield Royal Hospital to make changes to its visiting restrictions, a welcome move for patients and their loved ones. The change allows a designated visitor to come to hospital and see their loved one in person, once a week for up to an hour.
At Derby and Burton’s hospitals, leadership remains eager for residents to “maintain vigilance”.
Of the 21 Covid-19 patients at Derby, Chesterfield and Burton’s hospitals, 11 are at Royal Derby. This is a slight increase from last week, when the site had nine patients, but is a significant reduction from a pandemic peak of 388 patients with the virus (35 times as many) three months ago.
Of the 11 Covid patients at the Royal Derby, three are in intensive care. This is up one from last week but significantly below a pandemic peak in the first wave, a year ago, of nearly 30.
There are five patients at Queen’s Hospital in Burton, down from eight last week and the peak of 151, ten weeks ago.
Its staff are caring for two
Covid patients in intensive care, up from one last week but way down from a peak of 12 in early February.
Berenice Groves, deputy chief executive and chief operating officer at Chesterfield Royal, said: “Designated visiting ran successfully throughout August to October last year – before Covid-19 cases started increasing rapidly and the extended lockdown began.
“We’ve seen numbers drop significantly in the last few weeks, so it feels like the right time to make a change. We’re really pleased to offer designated visiting again, albeit with strict measures in place to protect our patients, staff and relatives.
“We know how important connecting with family is when you’re in hospital and this will certainly aid wellbeing.
“Anyone visiting will be expected to follow infection prevention measures, including social distancing, washing hands, using sanitiser and wearing a surgical mask throughout the duration of their visit.”
Krishna Kallianpur, Chesterfield’s
chief nurse, said: “We’ve tried really hard to keep families and friends in touch throughout the pandemic, including free Wifi on the wards to stay in touch virtually, our #Lettersoflove initiative and our staff have come up with lots of innovative ways to pass on messages and keep those bridges open.
“It is always second best to seeing someone in person though, so we are sure this announcement will be welcomed.”
Gavin Boyle, chief executive at the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust said: “This week, there continues to be really good news on Covid-19.
“At the moment we have fewer than 20 positive patients in our hospitals, which is a massive reduction on the peak of over 500 earlier this year.
“The total number of patients in our critical care units at Royal Derby Hospital and Queen’s Hospital Burton is also down to the level of our standard capacity.
“I am a little bit anxious about the relaxation of lockdown measures but so far so good. As ever, though, within our hospitals we need to maintain our vigilance. So, all of the important stuff about ‘hands, face, space’ remains absolutely vital.”
The current Covid case levels, to the week ending April 7, per 100,000 people for each Derbyshire district, followed by the corresponding number of new cases are:
Amber Valley – 10 per 100,000 people, 13 new cases
Bolsover – 34, 27
Chesterfield – 23, 24 Derbyshire Dales – 6, 4
Derby – 18, 46
Erewash – 18, 21
High Peak – 28, 26
North East Derbyshire – 39, 40 South Derbyshire – 30, 32
In contrast, case levels, at their peak, hit more than 600 per 100,000 in a week in Derby, more than 500 in Amber Valley and Bolsover; more than 400 in Chesterfield, Erewash and South Derbyshire; more than 300 in the High Peak; and more than 200 in the Derbyshire Dales.