Northern Lincolnshire hospitals continue to feel Covid pressure
Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Trust have shared that their hospitals are still feeling mounting pressure due to the current surge in Omicron across the area.
Last week the trust announced that they would be suspending visiting at their Grimsby and Scunthorpe hospitals.
If patients are receiving end of life care, have a learning disability, have dementia or are experiencing serious mental health issues due to visiting restrictions, they will be allowed to receive visitors.
However, all visitors must still prove negative lateral flow tests before their visits.
There are currently 86 Covid positive patients being cared for across Scunthorpe and Grimsby hospitals (43 at Grimsby with 2 in ICU and 43 at Scunthorpe with 0 in ICU).
That is an increase of 51 patients from last Friday morning. Between 30 and 40 per cent of these patients are not fully vaccinated.
The NLAG said: “Pressures are being felt across health services in the region with high levels of staff sickness. Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust currently have 479 frontline staff off work sick – with 181 of those for Covid related reasons. Meanwhile some GP practices are seeing up to 20% of their staff off work and ambulance colleagues have a number of staff off work due to Covid.
“Every day there are on average 50 patients across Scunthorpe, Grimsby and Goole hospitals who no longer require an acute bed, but are unable to be discharged. Across Northern Lincolnshire there are fifty plus care homes that are closed due to outbreaks; either due to Covid or other illnesses like norovirus.”
Dr Kate Wood, Medical Director at NLAG, said: “Our staff are working exceptionally hard in what are very testing and trying circumstances and it is credit to them that we have been able to maintain planned treatment and operations. We are doing everything we can to see and treat patients as quickly as possible but we recognise that some people are waiting longer in our A&E departments, and to be admitted to a bed, than we would like.”
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