Hospitals in Liverpool treating more COVID patients than at the peak

Staff at hospitals in Liverpool are said to be under “huge strain” dealing with extra COVID-19 patients as cases increase

Hospitals in Liverpool are now seeing more coronavirus patients than in the first peak in April, a hospital trust medical director has said.

Dr Tristan Cope, the medical director at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the Royal, Aintree and Broadgreen hospitals, said a “huge strain” had been placed on staff – and added that numbers were still rising.

He wrote on Twitter: “Sadly we are now treating more patients in hospital with COVID-19 @LivHospitals than we did in April at the peak of the first wave and numbers continue to rise.”

“So important that people in #liverpool and @LivCityRegion adhere to social distancing restrictions.”

This comes after the new COVID-19 lockdown restrictions will take Wales back to the same restrictions that were introduced back in March, with most businesses in the country shutting down, and people being told to stay at home and to work from home if possible.

He added:

“Treating so many Covid patients in addition to usual acute and emergency care of patients with non-Covid conditions puts a huge strain on @LivHospitals staff.”

“Thank you to all our staff for their incredible hard work and dedication in dealing with this very difficult situation.”

“We can all help reduce that pressure by doing the right thing and taking some very simple measures: washing our hands frequently, keeping our distance from others from outside our household and wearing face coverings in indoor settings.”

Whiston’s medical director Rowan Pritchard Jones has now stressed the importance of the community following advice as he expressed how “difficult” it was for staff to know some people question the veracity of the disease.

He said: “It is so difficult for those of us who walk in every day to care for the most critically ill patients that we know someone sprayed ‘hoax’ on the side of a town hall. But they have.”

“We work really hard to be upfront with our community who we are here to care for.”

“We need them to do their bit as well to try and manage these numbers.”

This comes after London is dealing with Tier 2 COVID-19 restrictions since Saturday, with the capital’s mayor warning that the coronavirus is “spreading rapidly in every corner of our city”. It means millions in the capital will be banned from meeting people from other households indoors, whether that’s in their home or in a pub.

According to the latest figures on infections, there were 2,970 new cases of COVID-19 recorded in the Liverpool area during the seven days leading up to 17 October.

This, therefore, marks a rate of 596.3 cases per 100,000 people, and is down from 691.7.

The chief nurse at the hospitals trust, Dianne Brown, called for recognition of “the impact” the surging numbers of COVID-19 cases in hospitals were having on staff.

She added on Twitter: “Thank you to each and everyone of you, it is mentally, physically and emotionally exhausting – you are doing an amazing job.”