York Hospital to cancel treatments to prepare for coronavirus surge
The hospital has cancelled some planned procedures next week.
York Hospital is preparing to cancel some treatments next week as it prepares for a surge in coronavirus cases.
The hospital currently has 71 coronavirus patients - but is preparing for more people to be admitted in the coming days.
The rising infection rate in Scarborough has also put more pressure on York.
York Hospital is set to take patients from other hospitals across the region – including Hull and Scarborough – where higher infection rates mean health services are busier.
Patients whose planned procedures need to be rescheduled to make space for coronavirus patients will be contacted by phone or letter.
A spokesperson for the hospital trust said: “As far as possible it will be routine planned procedures and operations we cancel first, where the clinical need is less urgent.
“We will continue with day case surgery and will carry out as many urgent operations, for example for patients with cancer, as we can.
“We are once again planning to work with our local independent hospitals to use their facilities for some urgent operations. Emergency patients will continue to be treated as normal.”
Lucy Brown from the NHS trust told a meeting of the city’s leaders: “It is positive to see that the cases in the community are going down, but as we’ve discussed before there is a lag before you start to see hospital admissions and we have seen those increasing in recent weeks.”
She stressed that there would not be a “wholesale” cancellation of elective procedures as there was in the first wave – but a “phased approach” to respond to the need for beds and staff.
A hospital spokesperson speaking after the meeting added: “As part of Covid surge planning, and indeed routine operational planning, at times of particular pressure neighbouring hospitals across the region provide support – as we do for them. Scarborough is a relatively small hospital and because the number of Covid cases is significantly up in the area, they are feeling a greater impact.”