Rise in Covid patients at Harrogate Hospital
There are now 64 patients receiving treatment for coronavirus.
Last updated 3rd Feb 2021
There are now 64 patients receiving treatment for coronavirus at Harrogate Hospital.
It's a rise of ten from last Wednesday.
Nine Covid deaths have been confirmed at the hospital in the last seven days - and the total since the pandemic began is now 132.
Across North Yorkshire, 440 people are now in hospital with coronavirus - a decrease of 64 from last week.
The figures were revealed by Amanda Bloor, accountable officer at NHS North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group, who warned patient numbers would stay high for some time as the health service continues to feel the effects of soaring infection rates over the Christmas period.
“I don’t think we are going to see a significant and quick drop in the numbers of admissions,” she told a briefing of the North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum on Wednesday.
“We do hope to see a consistent, steady decline and members of the public will help to achieve that by continuing to comply with the guidance.”
The increase in admissions marks another unwanted record for Harrogate hospital which has seen patient numbers reach new heights four times this year in the weekly figures.
January and February are usually peak times for Harrogate hospital but the added pressures of Covid last month forced the postponement of some non-urgent surgeries to free up staff to deal with virus patients which bosses said were putting “a significant strain on services”.
The surge in pressure also prompted staff on the hospital’s emergency and trauma ward to issue a fresh plea for people to stay at home during lockdown.
David Mattinson, medical registrar at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Harrogate has been exceptionally busy over the weeks following Christmas with many extremely sick patients requiring admission to hospital.
“Please stay at home and follow national guidance to ensure we can provide high quality care to everyone who needs it.”
He added: “Thank you to all my colleagues in the trust who are working like a family, supporting each other through the good and bad and keeping the population of Harrogate safe.”