North West hospitals facing "triple whammy" of pressures

Health bosses are warning that local NHS trusts aren't out of the woods when it comes to COVID

Author: Owen ArandsPublished 2nd Jul 2021
Last updated 2nd Jul 2021

There are warnings that hospital trusts across the North West are still facing significant pressure as growing numbers of COVID patients are admitted to the hospital.

Health officials say the strain on the NHS now is similar to what is usually seen in the winter months.

The latest government data shows there are currently 489 patients in hospitals across the North West with COVID-19, far below the peak of 4,300 in January.

However, with rocketing case rates across much of the country, including here in the North West, it's feared even a moderate increase in COVID patients could place significant strain on the health service.

Professor Kate Ardern is the Director of Public Health for Wigan and also works across the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, she said:

"People think the system isn't under pressure when in fact it is."

"Talking to GP colleagues, it's very clear that the system is under significant pressure."

"People have been describing this as winter happening in summer."

"Normally, we have a little bit more leeway in the NHS during the summer months. This time we're not seeing that."

"They're under a sort of triple whammy."

"They're monitoring lots of younger people with COVID, they've got all the non-COVID health problems that people have been storing up and at the same time, they are the absolute core of delivering our vaccination programme."

"Any small increases in COVID, particularly because of the way in which the healthcare settings have to manage with an outbreak in a hospital, for example, can really tip the system over very, very quickly."

At the moment between 60 and 70 new COVID patients are being admitted to hospital each day in the North West.

The prevalence of coronavirus in communities in the North West is also continuing to climb with 315 per 100,000 people now thought to have the virus here.

Hyndburn, Blackburn with Darwen, Rossendale, Manchester and Salford remain in the 10 worst regions of the country with Burnley and Wigan also in the top 20.

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