Covid NHS patients reach highest level since March
THE number of patients in hospital with Covid is now the highest since March and there are warnings the NHS in Scotland is “stretched”.
The latest figures show that there were 551 patients in hospital in Scotland with the infection, up from 312 just 10 days ago.
It is the highest patient count since early March, when there were 585 people in hospital with Covid, but recent record-breaking case numbers mean it is very likely to continue climbing.
Recent analysis by Public Health Scotland found that around 3-4 per cent of people who test positive for coronavirus are currently becoming sick enough to require hospital treatment, down from a peak of 13% in January before the vast majority of people were vaccinated.
High case rates still have the potential to put pressure on the NHS, however, and the 37,968 infections confirmed over the past seven days is the highest at any point during the pandemic, with the potential to translate into more than a thousand admissions.
Scotland’s national clinical director Professor Jason Leitch said a “reverse gear” on some
restrictions may be needed to curb the spread of the virus.
Prof Leitch said: “We’re now beginning to see rises in hospital admissions and that is harm. We don’t admit people to hospital for no reason.
“Over 500 now in hospital and a doubling of the case rate every seven days, so we really want to get on top of it. When you add a new infectious disease on top of what we already manage – diabetes, and strokes and heart attacks and everything else that comes through our community and hospital system – of course it is stretched.”
Several health boards, including Lanarkshire and Lothian, have already put non-urgent elective surgery on hold in recent weeks as a rise in urgent non-covid admissions put pressure on beds and absences due to sickness, annual leave and understaffing as Covid-related selfisolation left departments short.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, where Covid patient numbers have doubled to 201 over the past week, issued a plea to the public via Twitter yesterday, saying its A&E department was “very busy” and urging people not to attend “unless it is life-threatening”.
NHS Lanarkshire also announced it was restricting hospital visiting to one dedicated visitor per day due to “a rise in the number of Covid patients in our hospitals”, up from 51 to 82 in the past week.
Trudi Marshall, NHS Lanarkshire’s nurse director, said: “It is our priority to protect our patients and staff as much as is possible.”
It came as First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirmed that she had tested negative for Covid after being identified as a close contact.
As Ms Sturgeon is fully vaccinated, the result means she is no longer required to self-isolate unless she develops symptoms.
The First Minister said she was “relieved” but would continue doing regular lateral flow tests as an “added precaution”.