Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
‘IT’S NOT OVER’
Second coronavirus peak sees more people dying in OUR hospitals than anywhere in England
More people are dying with coronavirus in hospitals caring for Canterbury residents than anywhere else in England - with health bosses blaming a second peak.
A staggering one in nine Covid-19 deaths recorded in hospitals across the country in the last week has occurred at sites run by the East Kent trust. It reported 21 Covid-19 deaths in the seven days up to Monday – almost double that of any other trust in the country.
Just one other, in Warwickshire, recorded more than 10 deaths, with 12.
The figures are in stark contrast to other trusts in Kent, with two people dying in Medway over the same period and no deaths recorded at hospitals in either Dartford and Gravesham or Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells.
Hospital bosses blame a “second, late” peak of the virus at the end of May, when cases in east Kent increased and accounted for more than 70% of the county’s total. Almost a quarter were recorded in Ashford - home to the William Harvey Hospital, which is likely to treat almost all seriously ill Covid patients from Canterbury.
The hospital is one of three major acute sites run by the East Kent Hospitals Trust; the others are the Kent and Canterbury and the QEQM in Margate. At the peak of the virus – when 5,435 people died in a single week in hospitals across the country– deaths in east Kent accounted for 1% of the national total. This week that ratio stands at 10.8%.
While deaths in England have dramatically decreased over the last two months, the decline in east Kent has not been as sharp. During the peak of the virus, 56 people died in east Kent in the week leading up to April 13, and 54 in Dartford and Gravesham. Last week there were 21 deaths in east Kent, but none at all in Dartford and Gravesham. The trust says a second peak at the end of May, coupled with the area’s larger elderly population, is responsible.
A spokesman for East Kent Hospitals said: “East Kent saw a second, late peak of Covid cases in comparison with many other areas of the country, with high numbers of Covid positive patients in late May, particularly at William Harvey Hospital, Ashford.
“The population of east Kent is significantly older and with more co-morbidities than the England average, which means it is vulnerable to becoming acutely unwell with Covid-19. “The number of Covid positive patients is coming down, with the highest numbers remaining at William Harvey Hospital.” In the last three weeks for which data is available, there have been 31 new coronavirus cases in the Canterbury district, 81 in Ashford and 27 in Thanet, which recorded more than half of those in a single week up to June 26. Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield says questions will need to be answered about the high number of deaths.
“The death data this week for east Kent is sobering and a timely reminder that we are nowhere near the end of the pandemic and that this is not a time for complacency,” she said. “Many people will be wondering why the current local death rate is so high; as we learn more and get through this pandemic these, and many other questions, will need answers from local health authorities and from government.” Ashford MP Damian Green is concerned by the new revelations, but is positive his borough’s number of infections is much lower than earlier in the pandemic. He said: “It’s obviously very worrying that this number of deaths are occurring in east Kent hospitals. “The only consolation is that the incidents of Covid-19 infections is falling in Ashford and is much smaller now than it was in previous weeks.
“The lesson for all of us is to remain very, very careful when we reach the next stage of lockdown this weekend. Everyone must continue to use their common sense and not abuse any freedoms we’ll have from Saturday. It’s important everywhere and especially in our area because the virus was so widespread at the beginning of this.” ■ What do you think? Email kentishgazette@thekmgroup. co.uk.