TESTING TIMES!
Hospital to install a drive-through test centre as number of Covid patients rises ‘significantly’
RISING numbers of coronavirus patients are being treated at Stoke-on-Trent’s main hospital – as plans for a drive-through Covid test centre have been approved.
Latest figures show there are 96 Covid-19 patients being treated at the Royal Stoke University Hospital and Stafford’s County Hospital.
That compares with an average of around 160 patients at the height of the pandemic last April.
It also emerged last night that another two deaths with coronavirus-have been confirmed at Royal Stoke University Hospital and Stafford County Hospital.
The number of people who have died with Covid-19 at the University Hospitals of North Midlands Trust, which operates both hospitals, now stands at 367.
The latest figures also show another 128 cases of the virus have been confirmed in Stoke-on-trent, bringing the total to 3,035.
In the Staffordshire County Council area, which is all of Staffordshire outside Stoke-on-trent, there were 261 new cases confirmed - with the overall figure now standing at 8,325.
The new cases in Staffordshire included 59 in Newcastle-under-lyme Borough, and 32 in Stafford Borough.
Across the border in Cheshire East there were also another 134 new cases confirmed.
The plans to establish a longer-term coronavirus test centre next to the clinical education centre have now been approved. It will swab patients awaiting surgery and members of staff, and could be in place for a year.
The planning application approved by the city council states: “The proposal involves two canopies as well as a modular building to house the clinical staff who will be undertaking the Covid testing, and two car bays either side.”
The number of coronavirus patients being admitted has risen since the start of October.
A UHNM spokesman said: “We have seen a significant increase in admissions for patients who are Covid-19 positive during the last two weeks, and we expect this number to continue to rise.
“We have taken a number of steps to ensure our patients and staff are kept safe. The UHNM surgical pre-assessment team has developed a centralised swabbing service for patients who have been in self-isolation ahead of elective or planned surgery, in line with national guidance.
“A drive-through facility was quickly established at the clinical education centre early in the pandemic to help accommodate the pressures on the hospital site.
“A similar testing facility is also available at County Hospital.
“In July, the service expanded further to incorporate staff swabbing in light of the ongoing pandemic demands. We are now working to develop suitable facilities on a longer term basis to ensure staff and patients are kept safe from the risk of Covid-19 at the Royal Stoke.”