Hospital is now filling up with unvaccinated patients – doctor
AS coronavirus cases in Wales soar to the highest number since the start of January, one intensive care doctor is warning that rates are “translating into patients requiring hospital care”.
Consultant Ami Jones warned that the majority needing intensive care treatment had not been double vaccinated.
Latest figures from Public Health Wales released on Sunday showed there were 2,357 new cases in the 24 hours to Friday and three deaths.
The figure is just short of the 2,383 recorded earlier this year, but the number of deaths is down compared to 40.
While evidence suggests the vaccination programme is keeping people needing hospital treatment down, the sheer of cases means a rising number are being admitted.
Latest figures show 2,349,268 people in Wales have received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine and 2,174,937 people have received both doses of the jab.
But intensive care doctor Ami Jones, who works in the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board area, warned that the weekend had been busy.
She said on Twitter: “Having been on call this weekend, I can confirm that these case rates are translating into patients with Covid requiring hospital care.
“Very busy weekend for my colleagues in Emergency Department/ respiratory medicine and a steady stream requiring ITU, predominately unvaccinated.”
As of August 26 there were 278 people in general and acute hospital beds with coronavirus in Wales. And there were also 37 people in invasive ventilated beds in Wales with coronavirus.
Meanwhile, all eyes are on Scotland where children are already back at school and record highs of cases have been reported.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “We are seeing a rising curve of cases in Scotland. It’s reassuring that vaccines are preventing the levels of serious health harms that case numbers like this would once have caused.
“However, we can’t be complacent and are monitoring carefully. In the meantime, please take care.”
Elsewhere, one Welsh health board is asking people to stay away from A&E if possible due to “very high levels of demand”.
Hywel Dda University Health Board, which manages healthcare in Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion, has requested that people seek alternatives to visiting hospitals if they have conditions that could be described as “non-urgent”.
The request applies to all of the health board’s accident and emergency units, located at Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen, Withybush Hospital in Haverfordwest, and Bronglais Hospital in Aberystwyth.
In a further example of the strain currently on the healthcare system in west Wales, there is no doctor available at the Minor Injuries Unit at Llanelli’s Prince Philip Hospital between the hours of 12pm and 9pm on Bank
Holiday Monday.
The unit is operating a nurse-only service between those hours due to “staffing pressures”.
A spokeswoman for Hywel Dda University Health Board said on Monday August 30: “Please be aware that all of our hospital sites are currently experiencing very high levels of urgent and emergency care demand.
“For urgent and emergency care only, call 999. Hospitals are continuing to see patients who have medical emergencies. There are measures in our hospitals designed to keep patients as safe as possible and people are urged to seek urgent medical attention if they need it.
“If you have a non-urgent need, please seek alternatives to A&E such as visiting the 111 symptom checker, visiting your local community pharmacy or calling your doctor’s surgery.”
The health board also revealed that it has written to some patients to apologise after being forced to delay planned procedures.
The spokeswoman added: “Urgent care in hospitals, community and primary care has continued throughout the pandemic.
“We have restarted planned care according to the highest clinical needs of our patients and are working on plans to address the high number of people waiting.
“We have also written to those waiting the longest to apologise as we know the impacts can be so great. In an emergency, please access care as you normally would, without delay.
“If you are waiting for planned care and your symptoms have worsened or you have new symptoms, you should update your GP.”
Hospital care in Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion could look strikingly different in years to come, with plans in place to transform healthcare across the three counties.
The key decision made by health chiefs is one that will see a new multi-million-pound hospital built between St Clears in Carmarthenshire and Narberth in Pembrokeshire.
As part of the decision, Bronglais Hospital would continue to provide acute hospital services and Prince Philip Hospital would remain as a general hospital offering acute medicine.
However, Glangwili Hospital and Withybush Hospital could lose services and be “repurposed” to house GP-led minor injury units and a range of other services as part of new community networks of care.