Pressure for hospitals as attendance levels grow
A HOSPITAL trust boss has given a further indication of the serious pressure facing NHS urgent and emergency care services.
Rob Harrison, the managing director at South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said attendances in this area were up by 20% in recent months compared to pre-pandemic levels.
Mr Harrison was asked at a trust board of directors meeting whether demand would drop. He said in his experience it was likely to remain the same in the longer term.
In April just under 69% of patients entering A&E at South Tees were seen and discharged within the Government’s four-hour standard wait, against a target of 95%. However, a trust report said emergency care performance was “generally in line” with the regional and national position, reflecting the challenges faced in recovering from the Covid-19 outbreak.
Chief operating officer Sam Peate said emergency care continued to be a significant area of focus for the trust.
On Covid-19, he said it “continued to be prevalent within the organisation and we have seen an increase over the course of the last two weeks with regards to the number of inpatients we have got on site”.
Mr Peate also revealed that more than 95% of inpatient beds were occupied
at the James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, on most days.
Meanwhile, continued high activity levels were being seen at the urgent treatment centre at the Redcar Primary Care Hospital, which at the weekend had three-hour average waits for those attending.
Speaking in more depth about Covid19, Mr Harrison said the BA.4 and BA.5 variants of omicron were “significantly increasing” case numbers in the community and confirmed there had been a rise in hospital admissions, although this was not translating to a rise in severe illness and deaths due to protection offered by vaccines.
However, there were additional pressures on the trust due to the continuing need to isolate Covid-positive hospital patients.
The trust is currently advising members of the public visiting its hospitals and healthcare sites to wear a face covering if they are visiting high-risk areas.
A spokeswoman repeated previous advice about the virus. She said: “Get fully vaccinated if you haven’t already.
“Let fresh air in if you meet other people indoors. Keep things clean: wash your hands, cover your mouth or nose when you cough or sneeze and clean around you often.
“Consider wearing a mask when you are close to someone who is at high risk. Stay at home and away from other people if you have symptoms of an infection like Covid-19 and you have a high temperature, feel very hot and feel unwell.”