Peak still to come before load lightens
HOSPITAL BOSS RELIEVED TO SEE JANUARY END, BUT THIS MONTH ‘BRINGS ITS OWN DIFFICULTIES’
THE number of patients being treated for Covid-19 at a Nottinghamshire hospital trust is falling.
However, the trust’s chief executive says the expectation is that this could soon rise again - believing “we may not have reached our peak yet”.
Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which operates King’s Mill, Newark and Mansfield Community Hospitals, is currently treating 174 patients for coronavirus.
This has fallen from around 200 patients, a number that had remained stagnant “for the past weeks”.
However, Richard Mitchell, chief executive of the trust, believes the “pattern of community infections” could make this number rise once again.
He said: “The number of Covid positive patients at Sherwood has dropped slightly to 174, from a daily number of around 200 for the past weeks.
“Whilst our numbers have dropped, we may not have reached our peak yet, based on the pattern of community infections.
“We still need you all to support us by following the lockdown guidance, by washing your hands and by maintaining social distancing.”
The update comes as part of Mr Mitchell’s weekly blogs during the coronavirus pandemic, where he recently described January as the “longest month”.
Rising hospitalisations at the beginning of January, coupled with the usual pressures of the winter period, led to severe strain in hospitals across the country.
And Mr Mitchell believes February will come with its “own difficulties” as the country edges closer to an “easier” period in the spring.
Mr Mitchell said: “Like me, you might be breathing a sigh of relief today that January is over.
“It has felt like the longest month for so many reasons and while February is also set to bring its own difficulties, I hope the lighter days help.
“We are inching ever closer to spring and that is always an easier time of year, no matter the other challenges we face.
“Quite rightly, NHS colleagues have received a lot of recognition over the last 12 months.
“The care they give to patients has been extraordinary and I was proud to see that reflected on a national stage.
“You will already know we aim to care for patients as we would want our loved ones to be cared for, that we work hard as a team in incredibly challenging conditions and we continue to care for each other to get us through the hard days.”
Last week a leading Nottinghamshire doctor warned that the county’s Covid-19 death toll could rise “for the next three to four weeks”, with the situation remaining “critical” across the area’s hospitals.
The Post was recently given exclusive behind-the-scenes access across the county’s two largest hospital trusts, showing the true extent of the pressure on NHS locally.