Hospitals receiving more virus patients than at peak of first wave

A THIRD of England’s major hospital trusts now have more Covid-19 patients than during the peak of the first wave, with some areas seeing a rise of more than 30 per cent in weekly admissions.

In eastern and south-west England more than half of trusts are above their first-wave peak, government figures showed.

Of the 127 acute hospital trusts with 24-hour A&E departments in England, 42 (33 per cent) had more Covid-19 patients on Dec 18 than at the peak of the first wave in the spring.

Mid & South Essex recorded 450 confirmed Covid-19 patients on Dec 18, compared with a first-wave peak of 374. The trust has postponed some nonurgent operations, with surgery prioritised based on clinical need, and cancer care unaffected.

Barking, Havering & Redbridge had 22 per cent more Covid-19 patients as of Dec 18 with 300 patients, and 245 in the first peak. It is the only trust in London to have passed the peak, but London as a region has seen a 33 per cent rise in inpatients over the last week, rising from 2,212 on Dec 13 to 2,960 on Dec 20. Barts Charity, which supports staff at the city’s Barts Health NHS Trust in London, said it was seeing a “second surge in Covid-19 patients”.

In the east of England, there has been a 36 per cent rise in patients in hospitals with Covid-19 over the same period, increasing from 1,432 to 1,954.

Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, said yesterday the number of coronavirus patients in the South East had risen from 27 per cent to 50 per cent in a week. “The difference means you just can’t hold off when the facts are in front of you,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, when justifying the lastminute Christmas rule change.

The t otal number of Covid- 1 9 patients in all hospitals in England – including mental health and community trusts – currently stands at 16,526.

The last time the national level was as high was April 20, with 16,654.