Dramatic fall in number of patients needing hospital
WALES has seen a dramatic fall in the number of patients needing hospital treatment for coronavirus.
Latest figures from the Welsh Government show that an average of 15 people a day were admitted to hospital with confirmed or suspected Covid-19 in the last week – down from 20 recorded in the previous week.
To put this into context, during the winter peak there were 166 admissions in a single day (December 30), but that figure has been falling since.
Meanwhile, the number of coronavirus patients occupying hospital beds is also at record lows since the pandemic began.
However, the picture still differs significantly between health boards.
Across Wales, 347 beds were occupied with Covid-19-related patients – confirmed, suspected and recovering – on Wednesday, representing 4% of all hospitalisations.
This is a big decrease from 519 on the same day in the previous week (7% of all hospitalisations) and way below the peak on January 12 of 2,879.
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board currently has the most general and acute beds occupied with confirmed, suspected and recovering coronavirus patients with 124, followed by Betsi Cadwaladr UHB (94) and Cwm Taf Morgannwg UHB (86).
In contrast, Swansea Bay University Health Board only has two Covid19 patients taking up general and acute beds, Hywel Dda UHB has eight and Aneurin Bevan UHB has 22. Exactly one month earlier – on March 14 – these figures stood at 226, 52 and 80 respectively.
There was also very encouraging news when it came to the number of Covid-19 patients needing the highest form of treatment in invasive ventilated beds.
On Wednesday, 11 patients with Covid-19 were taking up these beds, compared to 16 the same day the week before and 164 during the pandemic’s peak in April 2020.
Aneurin Bevan UHB and Cardiff UHB have three coronavirus patients each in these types of beds, followed by Cwm Taf Morgannwg UHB and Betsi Cadwaladr UHB with two and Swansea Bay
UHB with one.
Hywel Dda UHB currently has no patients in intensive care.
In contrast, 144 invasive ventilated beds are currently being taken up by non-covid patients – close to the highest number since this data was first collected in April 2020.
Dr Keith Reid, Swansea Bay University Health Board’s director of public heath, said there had been a “steady decline” in the number of cases of Covid in its hospitals over “a prolonged period”.
“But the decline in cases in the second wave has taken more than three times as long as for the first wave,” he said.
“More recently, we have seen fewer cases in the community needing admission and since we have seen significant reductions in cases in those over 60 years of age, that is likely attributable to the impact of our vaccination programme.
“That’s significant because older people are more likely to have comorbidities (pre-existing conditions) that make them more vulnerable to the effects of Covid infection and more likely to need hospital admission for treatment.
“We’ve also seen reduced impact of in-hospital transmission due to better testing and improved infection prevention and control measures.”
However, Dr Reid admitted there remains a risk of “reintroduction” of infection into hospitals via staff and patients.
“We’re increasing the availability of regular staff testing and have upped the testing of patients after admission to help reduce this ongoing risk,” he added.
“However, as long as there are cases in the community these pose a risk to our hospital operations and younger people who are infected can infect other more vulnerable people of any age.
“We need people to continue to respect the visiting restrictions and other rules over attending our hospital sites and not to bring infection onto our wards through their selfish behaviours.
“No visitors in our hospitals means that it’s not okay to arrange to meet others in corridors or in the hospital grounds, particularly if safety measures are then ignored when you’re meeting up.
“And in our communities people still need to take action to reduce the risk of infection: minimise your contact with people that you don’t live with, keep a distance to others, wear a mask and wash your hands regularly.
“While vaccination offers individual protection against infection we still need people to be cautious.
“Vaccination is not a licence to ignore the safety measures in place to protect others.”
Meanwhile the number of people visiting A&E departments across Wales for all illnesses and injuries is creeping up to normal levels once again.
On Sunday there were 2,318 A&E attendances, a slight rise when compared to 2,290 on the same day in the previous week, while the 2015 to 2019 average is 2,747.
Total number of Covid patients in hospital now compared with the previous three months:
HYWEL DDA UHB
January 14: 251 in general and acute beds and 12 in invasive ventilated beds
February 14: 181 in general and acute beds and 6 in invasive ventilated beds
March 14: 52 in general and acute beds and none in invasive ventilated beds
April 14: 8 in general and acute beds and none in invasive ventilated beds
SWANSEA BAY UHB
January 14: 429 in general and acute beds and 17 in invasive ventilated beds
February 14: 292 in general and acute beds and 10 in invasive ventilated beds
March 14: 226 in general and acute beds and 2 in invasive ventilated beds
April 14: 2 in general and acute beds and 1 in invasive ventilated beds
CWM TAF MORGANNWG UHB
January 14: 560 in general and acute beds and 27 in invasive ventilated beds
February 14: 300 in general and acute beds and 11 in invasive ventilated beds
March 14: 134 in general and acute beds and 5 in invasive ventilated beds
April 14: 86 in general and acute beds and 2 in invasive ventilated beds