NHS is facing a winter like no other - we really need everyone to do their bit say county NHS bosses
COVID ACTIVITY IS RISING RAPIDLY IN LEICESTER’S HOSPITALS WITH MORE IN CARE THAN FIRST WAVE
HEALTH bosses say the NHS in Leicestershire is now under “extreme pressure” as the second wave of coronavirus heaps demand on top of the usual winter challenges.
Andy Williams, chief executive of the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland clinical commissioning groups, said the NHS locally had coped well with the first wave of the virus in the spring.
Now, however, he said levels of activity, particularly in the Leicester Royal Infirmary, Glenfield and Leicester General acute hospitals, are rising rapidly.
He said: “We are very concerned. We have more people with Covid in acute beds now than we had in the peak of the first wave. Now we have to focus on creating capacity to treat the most seriously ill.”
He said the NHS locally was still “open for business” but added: “We have taken the difficult decision to stop some non-urgent operations to look after those with the most serious conditions, including emergencies and those needing treatment for cancer.
“This is a winter unlike any other. It is true we have struggled a bit every winter with the pressures but this last week the data shows we have close to 250 people in hospital with a Covid diagnosis.”
He said projections were that this would rise to more than 300 in a fortnight.
He said: “There’s about 25 people in ITU (Intensive Therapy Unit) at any one time and that number is rising. We have 50 ITU beds under normal circumstances.
“It is a very significant proportion of our workload.”
Mr Williams said the number of Covid patients now in ITU was lower than in the spring, when there were up to 60 or 70 at a time, but he said that was because methods of treating the virus had developed significantly over the summer with more options beyond putting people on mechanical ventilation.
He warned it was still expected the numbers of virus patients in ITU would rise to 40 which would put it in “a very difficult place”.
He added: “It is possible some of those in-patients with Covid might have been admitted with other things in other years and it is difficult to tease that apart.
“But all the things that would normally happen - influenza, respiratory illness and the accident and emergency work - are happening anyway and on top of that we have a pandemic that is self-evidently adding to the burden of care.”
Mr Williams added: “The other thing to remember is that this has a secondary effect and because Covid is so prevalent we are having to change the way we deliver care.
“Staff have to wear completely different equipment, we have to clean and sanitise areas in a very different way. That means the productivity of the service is lower, legitimately, in order to keep people safe.
“Not only are we experiencing
We have more people with Covid in acute beds now than we had in the peak of the first wave
Andy Williams
more work but we can’t treat people as quickly so there is a double pressure.
“We are not complaining about it and saying ‘poor NHS’ but the point is that we are saying ‘please bear with us’ and also ‘please help us’.”
He said that right now the most effective thing people could do was to break the transmission of the virus by not mixing between households and maintaining social distance.
He said this would reduce the number of people falling ill with the virus and lessen pressure on the NHS locally.
He said: “That approach is low-tech but it can have a huge impact. Making sure you wear your mask over your nose and mouth, washing your hands.
“It doesn’t seem much but it is unbelievably effective.
“Many people have been doing it for months and we need to sustain that effort.
“This is going to be a difficult winter coping with everything we normally face and Covid and truthfully it will be like one we have never experienced.”
Mr Williams added: “The Emergency Department at the Leicester Royal Infirmary is very busy.
“If your health condition isn’t serious, please contact NHS 111 first who can advise on the best way to treat you and, if necessary, make sure you go to the best place for your treatment.
“Please also remember that GP practices are open. They are busy but will provide an appointment if necessary. Help us to help you by keeping safe and following the guidance to control the spread of Covid-19.”
Leicester mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: “Protecting the NHS was the aim earlier on and it remains a very high priority, if not the highest priority.”
He said it was vital people did what they could to ease the pressure on the NHS workers dealing with often tragic situations in frontline health care.