Hull could be weeks away from Covid-19 peak as cases rise
HOSPITAL BOSSES SAY THEY ARE COPING WELL WITH OUTBREAK
NHS staff have faced a “steady rise” in coronavirus patients over the past week, but hospital chiefs have warned Hull has yet to reach its peak.
The Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital, announced its “surge plan” last week and says it has been able to cope with the number of Covid-19 patients.
There has been no sudden rise in cases, which the trust feared could have taken place over the Easter weekend, but there has been a steady increase.
But the rise in cases is expected to continue for a “number of weeks yet”.
Teresa Cope, chief operating officer at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “Since our surge plan was published last week, we have continued to see a steady rise in the number of patients with Covid-19 in our hospitals.
“This rise was expected and has been managed within the capacity we have created by cancelling nonurgent elective surgery, for example, and discharging more patients back into the community.
“We expect to see further increases in the number of Covid-19 positive patients requiring hospital care as we move towards the peak of the pandemic in our area.
“It is impossible to know exactly when this will occur, but we expect to see numbers peak in the next few weeks and then we will continue to experience high levels of demand for some time beyond that.”
Staff absence has slightly improved since last week’s announcement when Mrs Cope revealed about 12 per cent were off work due to coronavirus.
The trust has prepared for increased demand with 700 NHS staff brought out of retirement to help out.
Last week, the trust said there were 49 patients with Covid-19 and 18 of those were in critical care.
The trust says it is unable to provide updated figures due to the rapidly changing picture, but says the number is now higher.
Testing of staff or relevant family members showing symptoms of Covid19 is being increased to ensure frontline staff can return to work as quickly as possible.
Routine outpatient appointments and operations have been cancelled to create breathing space.
Also as part of the plan, 60 per cent of all hospital beds will be used for positive and suspected cases, with some wards changed from their usual specialties to accept patients with confirmed or suspected Covid-19.
But specialist wards will be protected to care for patients with strokes, heart problems, brain injuries and illnesses and cancer throughout the outbreak. The surge plan has allowed for a tripling of the critical care capacity with extra beds and equipment secured from the Spire Hospital in Anlaby.
Additional staff are also being retrained and drafted in from other local NHS organisations while medical, nursing and clinical staff as well as non-clinical staff will be redeployed to support key frontline services.
Training is also being introduced to ensure clinical staff have the required skills to support colleagues in priority areas such as the emergency department, intensive care and medical wards where Covid-19 patients are being treated.
Despite the new measures, Mrs Cope insists the public can also play a vital role in ensuring NHS services are not overwhelmed.
She said: “I would reiterate that our hospitals are well prepared and have plans in place to manage this, but we also need the public to help us by playing their part.
“Breaking the chain of transmission from person to person is key to tackling the coronavirus pandemic, so please help us by staying at home, washing hands regularly, social distancing, and only going out for essential travel.”