Covid patients almost halved
QUEEN’S HOSPITAL CHIEF’S ‘WELCOME RELIEF’ FOR STEADY FALL IN NUMBERS BEING TREATED BUT HE WARNS THAT CASES ARE STILL HIGH AND THAT WE ‘MUSTN’T LOWER OUR GUARD’ –
BURTON hospital has seen Covid inpatients drop nearly 40 per cent in a fortnight as more vulnerable people are vaccinated.
Queen’s Hospital in Burton is currently treating 91 covid patients as lockdown three appears to be taking effect.
This is down a quarter from 120 patients with the virus last week and nearly 40 per cent down from two weeks ago, when the hospital hit an all-time high of 151 patients. The first-wave high at the Belvedere Road hospital Burton last year was around 100.
Queen’s Hospital staff are currently treating eight patients with the virus in intensive care, which is around its first wave peak, but down from 12 two weeks ago.
The University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust, which also includes Royal Derby Hospital and other NHS facilities, and a first-wave high of 252 Covid-19 patients, a level which it continues to exceed.
Gavin Boyle, chief executive at the Derby and Burton Trust said: “Over the last week we’ve seen the numbers of Covid19 patients in our hospitals begin to fall steadily. This is a welcome relief.
“We currently have just under 300 patients with Covid-19 with us.
This is significantly fewer than the level only a couple of weeks ago but still higher than the peak of wave one. Consequently, the hospitals are still under considerable pressure
The hospitals are still under considerable pressure and this is no time to lower our guard.
Gavin Boyle
and this is no time to lower our guard. “We need to maintain our discipline in relation to infection control measures and continue to follow the rules as we have done so far.” Royal Derby Hospital is currently treating 182 coronavirus patients. This has dropped a third since last week, when it had 258 patients with the virus, and down more than half from 388 coronavirus patients a month ago - its alltime record and more than double that of the first wave.
There are 19 coronavirus patients in Royal Derby’s intensive care unit, a figure which has remained fairly steady for the past month, remaining lower than the first wave peak (around 30) due to further treatment options and a better understanding of the virus.