By Charlotte Webster-
Health secretary Matt Hancock says he is worried about the doubling of hospital admissions in the North Of England in its fight against coronavirus, with hospital admissions in parts of England doubling every two weeks.
Mr Hancock told NHS leaders he was “very worried” about the growth in new Covid-19 cases in the northwest and northeast of England, as well as in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and parts of Yorkshire.
Pubs and restaurants in the North Of England face closure as from Monday due to the rise in infections and hospital admissions, in a bid to stem the spread of the virus. Already, pubs and restaurants in England are forced to close as from 10 pm every night. Mps and local leaders are worried about the rising restrictions, but the scale of the rise in hospital admissions is more worrying.
The beginning of the University term has been blamed for the sharp rise in hospital admissions, as students held illegal parties during the first week of term, with many fearlessly breaching social distancing regulations.
Many analysts and scientists on the governments SAGE advisory board are already talking of the possibility of a second national lockdown, a scenario, prime Minister Boris Johnson has already said he would rather avoid.
However, the protection of the most vulnerable members of the public from the coronavirus is uppermost in the government’s mind, although a group of scientists with different views from those advising the government, has called for those belonging to vulnerable groups to shield themselves without the entire public having to do so. The prime minister does not agree with those recommendations, preferring to shut segments of society down if infection rates continue to soar.
A total of 17,540 new cases of coronavirus were recorded on Thursday and Mr Hancock said he was “very worried about the growth in cases, especially in the north-west and north-east of England, parts of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and parts of Yorkshire”.
In the north-west, hospitals were seeing admissions double about every fortnight; they have risen 57 per cent in the past week alone, he added.
An estimated 2,000 NHS hospital beds were now occupied by Covid-19 patients, the majority in the north of England.
Patients Awaiting Treatment
The effect on those awaiting treatment for other illnesses has been grim.Chaand Nagpaul, chair of the ruling council of the British Medical Association, which represents doctors, said the number of people waiting more than a year for treatment was the highest since 2008. Waiting times for cancer treatment were continuing to increase, he added.
“This latest set of performance stats shows we are on an extremely worrying trajectory heading into winter, with patients continuing to suffer enormously,” said Dr Nagpaul
Addressing the annual conference of NHS Providers, which represents hospitals, Mr Hancock said: “We know from bitter experience that the more coronavirus spreads, the harder it is to do all the other vital work of the NHS too.”
Yvonne Doyle, medical director for Public Health England, said there was “a definite and sustained increase in cases and admissions to hospital”, describing the trend as “clear and . . . concerning”.
NHS chief executive Simon Stevens said on Wednesday that at the start of September, there had been fewer than 500 Covid-19 patients in hospital and now there were now “nearly 3,000”