Number of COVID patients in Devon's hospitals falls by 20 per cent in a week
Beds occupied in the county, remain the lowest in England
The number of patients in Devon’s hospitals following a positive Covid-19 test has fallen by nearly 20 per cent in the last week – as beds occupied remain the lowest in England.
As of Tuesday morning, there were 254 patients occupying beds across the county after a positive test, down on the 300 as of the previous Tuesday.
Patient numbers have fallen in Exeter, Plymouth and Torbay, and have remained unchanged in North Devon, while the Nightingale Hospital has seen a slight rise as it continues to take in patients from elsewhere in the country.
Devon’s figures are slightly inflated by the fact that they have been taking in patients from elsewhere in the country, including Somerset and Dorset, because in those regions, they are closer to capacity than Devon is.
In total, as of Tuesday, there were 58 patients at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital (down from 80 as of Jan 26), 57 at the Nightingale (up from 55), 35 at Torbay Hospital (down from 42), 92 in Derriford Hospital in Plymouth (down from 112), 8 at North Devon District Hospital (unchanged), and four in Devon Partnership NHS Trust units (up from 3) although not all patients are local given some have been transferred to the region from elsewhere.
The figure for the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital of 58 patients is the lowest that they have been treating for nearly three months – when there were 55 patients on November 7.
But in Cornwall, the number of patients in hospital has risen slightly, up to 149 from the 143 as of last week.
And the number of patients in mechanical ventilation beds across the two counties is slightly up as well, with 20 in Derriford, 10 at the Royal Devon and Exeter, and seven in Torbay, up from 35 in total as of last Tuesday, while in Cornwall, the total has risen from 13 to 14.
The figures show the amount of patients in hospital following a positive COVID-19 test who are currently occupying a bed.
But not every patient would necessarily have been admitted to hospital due to COVID-19, with a number of patients either contracting the virus inside the hospital, or being admitted for unrelated reasons but subsequently testing positive asymptotically when given routine tests.
And as a percentage of total acute beds available, 2 per cent of beds in North Devon are occupied with Covid patients, 4 per cent in Torbay, 10 per cent in Plymouth, and 15 per cent in Exeter, all down on the figures as of last week, but Cornwall at 16 per cent is slightly up.
North Devon, Torbay and Plymouth have the lowest percentage occupancy rates anywhere in England, while at a partnership level, Devon is the lowest.
And based on patients, both covid and non-covid related, in adult critical care, as a share of total capacity last winter, every single hospital in Devon has a lower occupancy of capacity that last winter.
Figures from the Health Service Journal, whereby 100 per cent equals last winter’s capacity occupied, Derriford is at 90 per cent, Exeter at 92 per cent, North Devon at 75 per cent and Torbay at 70 per cent. Cornwall though is at 127 per cent.