Dedicated ward set up at PRI for Covid cases
A unit separate from the main building has been set up as a dedicated Covid ward at Perth Royal Infirmary.
Tay Ward is being used to support the increasing number of admissions of those with the virus.
It comes as cases are rising across the country.
Between December 27 and January 2, there were 15,280 reported positive cases in Scotland, with 333 of those in Perth and Kinross – according to the latest figures from Public Health Scotland.
And on Tuesday this week there were 11 reported deaths in Scotland of people who had tested positive; 1347 people were in hospital with recently confirmed Covid-19, and 93 people were in intensive care.
During the first lockdown, Crieff Community Hospital was put on standby as a potential ward for cases.
However, a spokesperson for NHS Tayside said the Crieff ward had been stood down with Tay Ward in Perth being mobilised.
He told the Herald: “Our clinical and support teams have been working together to action the next phase of NHS Tayside’s Covid-19 response plan which means our health and social care system is in the best position to respond to the twin pressures of winter and the impact of coronavirus.
“Alongside changes at Ninewells Hospital to increase the number of wards which are dedicated Covid- 19 units, the next step in the plan is to mobilise a dedicated Covid step-down ward on the PRI site to support the increase in patients requiring hospital admission across our sites.
“Tay Ward, which is in a separate area from the main ward block at PRI, has been temporarily re-purposed as this dedicated Covid step-down facility.
“Our health and social care teams are continuing to respond to the increasing pressures across hospitals and community services.
“As the levels of coronavirus are rising in our communities it is important people follow the Scottish Government’s FACTS guidance.”
Meanwhile, a leading scientist on the frontline in the fight against Covid has called the approval of the new OxfordAstra Zeneca vaccine a “punch in the air” moment.
James Chalmers, a British Lung Foundation professor of respiratory research at Dundee University, also said it is a major breakthrough due to the ease in which it can be distributed to the population.
Prof Chalmers has also seen first-hand the effect the disease has on patients in his role as a respiratory consultant at Ninewells Hospital.
Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland recently, Prof Chalmers said of the latest vaccine: “This is fantastic news.
“It is a punch in the air moment for those of us that have been working on the frontline against Covid.
“This could make such a difference to reduce the rising cases that we have seen across the country.
“There is a huge difference here which is that the effectiveness of vaccines is not really just about how it works in clinical trials, it is how it is delivered to the population.
“And the Oxford vaccine has a major advantage that it can be stored at regular fridge temperatures, meaning that it can be delivered to every part of the UK very quickly like the flu vaccine is every year.
“In terms of rolling this out to the whole population to help achieve herd immunity, this is a major breakthrough because of how easy it is to deliver.
“We know every year the flu vaccine can be delivered very quickly over a period of two to three months.”
Prof Chalmers added: “In January and February we should be aiming to vaccinate a significant proportion of the population the way we do every start of winter with the flu vaccine.
“We can turn around these rising cases by getting the vast majority of the population vaccinated in the coming months.”
He revealed that the effectiveness of the Oxford vaccine is at about 70 per cent – significantly more effective than the general flu vaccine, which is between 40 and 60 per cent.
“This is going to make a huge difference to reduce rising Covid cases if we can roll this out to the population,” he revealed.
“The other key bit about effectiveness is preventing severe disease and in the trials this was very effective at preventing severe infections.
“So people that were getting infections on the vaccine side of the trial were getting mild infections, and all the severe infections were on the placebo or control side of the trial. The government is going to prioritise giving everyone the first dose as quickly as possible with the second dose following three months later.
“That will provide sufficient protection in the short term to reduce the number of cases nationally.”