‘Shock’ at virus outbreak
HILLINGDON’S leader of the opposition has expressed his “shock” at reports 70 hospital staff are self-isolating amid a coronavirus outbreak at Hillingdon Hospital.
Peter Curling, the opposition Labour leader on Hillingdon Council, reacted as the Pield Heath Road hospital confirmed it has temporarily shut its A&E department and emergency admissions after staff members had tested positive for the deadly virus.
In a hospital trust statement, the outbreak was declared on Friday, July 3.
Councillor Curling said: “I’m a little shocked and concerned about it. The hospital seemed to be making the correct precaution of closing A&E to prevent the spread.
“It is also difficult to get the right balance of finding out what has gone wrong and the concern of the outbreak, and also what could be potentially scaremongering for people suffering from illnesses who need hospital treatment. Are they going to now be frightened [to go to hospital]?”
A Hillingdon Hospital spokesperson said the London Ambulance Service had been asked to take new patients to neighbouring hospitals, adding the impact on patient care has been kept to an “absolute minimum”.
But Cllr Curling also expressed concern for residents having to travel “far away” to Northwick Park Hospital, which is likely to be the next point of call.
Councillor Tony Eginton, Hillingdon Labour’s public health spokesman, also described the incident as “clearly very worrying” and raised concerns over patients that had come into contact with now self-isolating staff that could have caught the virus.
“How many of those patients have actually been traced? Otherwise there could be isolated pockets in the borough as a result,” he said.
Public Health England London regional director Professor Kevin Fenton said the body was working with Hillingdon Council’s public health team and the hospital trust’s management to limit the spread of infection, and gave reassurances that the levels of coronavirus in Hillingdon “remain low and steady”.
“This incident is currently isolated to the hospital with no indication of wider community transmission, however we remain vigilant and are carefully monitoring the situation,” he said.
In the wider Hillingdon community, there have been 1,097 cases of coronavirus so far since that pandemic began, a rate of 359.9 per 100,000 people.
Between July 2 and July 7 there have been 21 new cases of coronavirus in the borough. That includes ‘Pillar 1’ data from testing in hospitals, and ‘Pillar 2’ data from testing in the community.
Concerning council plans in the event of a wider community outbreak, Cllr Curling added he believes council officers and members are “doing all they can to put things in place”.
However, he branded the NHS track and trace system “a fiasco” nationally, with phoning people affected “not the actual answer” as questions were raised on how patients or visitors who attended the hospital will be told if they had come into contact with now self-isolating staff.
However, David Simmonds, Conservative MP for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner, said: “Hillingdon Hospital is a major centre for treating Covid-19 patients and they are responding to the outbreak in line with guidelines from the NHS.
“I know that the track and trace teams locally are experienced and effective professionals who will be able to respond appropriately to minimise any wider impact from the number of infections reported at the hospital,” he added.
As the outbreak comes following weeks of lockdown being eased, Mr Simmonds said while evidence shows changing rules has not prompted a major national increase in infections, the “situation needs to be monitored”, and that measures such as those being taken at Hillingdon Hospital are needed to minimise the risk.