Whiston Hospital opens fourth Covid ward as admissions rise fast

Admissions at St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust had been falling since the end of October, where are one point there were five dedicated Covid wards.

The numbers began to rise over Christmas, however, as infection rates across the region started to surge.

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The latest figures from NHS England have shown another worrying increase.

As of January 5, the trust, which runs Whiston, St Helens and Newton hospitals, was caring for 89 Covid patients, up from 51 seven days earlier.

The number of Covid patients in intensive care has seen a slight increase, rising from two to three.

More recent figures, released by the trust itself, has shown that admissions have now surpassed 100, with 104 positive inpatients as of today (Friday).

The fresh rise in patients forced hospital chiefs to open its fourth dedicated Covid ward.

Whiston’s emergency department has seen less activity in recent days, however, which has taken some of the pressure off staff.

In terms of deaths, NHS England figures show that, since the start of the outbreak in mid-March 2020, 385 people had died at the trust as of 5pm on Thursday.

This means there have been 12 deaths in the past week, up from five the previous week.

It remains to be seen just how bad the current situation is going to get, which comes at a time that is historically the busiest time of year for the NHS.

NHS staff at Whiston Hospital

With infection rates continuing to surge across the Liverpool City Region, things could yet get much worse over the coming weeks.

Across the region, the seven-day infection rate has more than tripled in the last seven days, rising to 661.2 cases per 100,000 people.

In St Helens, 1,071 positive Covid cases, including 192 from the symptom free, lateral flow tests, were recorded in the seven days up to January 5.

This equates to a rate of 593.1 per 100,000 people, although rates are considerably higher in some wards.

Haydock had the highest infection rate during that time, with a rate of 745.2 from 96 cases, followed by Thatto Heath with a rate of 233.9 from 86 cases.

Sue Forster, St Helens Borough Council’s director of public health, said the drastic jump in cases is due to the new Covid variant, which is up to 70 per cent more infectious.

She has urged residents to stay home as much as possible to keep the virus at bay and to protect the NHS.

Whiston Hospital

Ms Forster said: “The drastic jump in cases is due to the new variant of Covid-19, which spreads more easily. In St Helens borough, cases doubled from Christmas week to the following week.

“These figures are similar across the country – an estimated one in 50 people is now infected with the virus.

“Hospitals across the UK are now under more pressure than they have been at any other point throughout the pandemic.

“Staying at home and following ‘hands, face, space’ are more important than ever.

“We’ve coped with lockdown, home schooling and shielding before – and I know we can do it again.

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“But this time, we have better testing, and we are already getting the vaccine to those who need it most.

“Please do not call your GP practice to ask about the vaccine – you will be contacted when it’s your turn.”

For more information visit www.sthelens.gov.uk/covidfaqs