Vigilance plea as Covid deaths rise at QA
ICU running at ‘200 per cent’
A TOTAL of 28 patients have died at QA Hospital in the last week after testing positive for coronavirus.
The latest daily figures released by NHS England on Tuesday showed that there had been four deaths on December 19, five on December 20 and two on December 21 – the latest seven were confirmed yesterday.
It brings the total number of deaths linked to coronavirus at the Portsmouth hospital to 345 since the pandemic started earlier this year.
The updated total comes as Portsmouth is moved into tier four of the gover nment’s coronavirus restrictions, along with Havant and Gosport.
Confirmed cases in the Portsmouth City Council area have risen to nearly 6,000 since the start of the pandemic.
The spread of Covid-19 across the area has caused politicians and senior health officials at the hospital to repeatedly call for residents to be vigilant – warning that the hospital is under severe pressure.
Last Friday saw Portsmouth South MP Penny Mordaunt warn that the ICU at QA was running at ‘ 200 per cent’. In a video posted to Twitter, she said: ‘We've got to ensure that our healthcare system remains robust. It would be a disaster if that falls over.
‘And that's the reason why we've gone into this higher tier.’
The MP’s warning follows Dr John Knighton, medical director at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, telling The News that Queen Alexandra Hospital has been under ‘increasing pressure’ over the last few week.
Staff at the hospital have worked longer hours and more shifts in order to tackle to rising number of coronavirus patients, according to Dr Knighton.
He said: ‘The recent rollout of the Covid-19 vaccination is fantastic news for all of us, but we cannot become complacent as this will take time.
‘Please do what you can to help reduce the spread of Covid-19 and help us keep you, our teams and your loved ones safe.’
Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has recorded 233 deaths.
Each of the two trusts confirmed a death in Tuesday’s update.
We've got to ensure that our healthcare system remains robust. Portsmouth South MP Penny Mordaunt