New figures reveal increase in Covid hospitalisations in Northumbria

The statistics show there were 32 new Covid admissions in the Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in the week ending December 1.

By the week ending December 26 it had increased to 52 – a jump of 62.5%.

The number of patients on ventilators rose by 25%, from eight on December 1 to 10 on December 28.

Most Covid-positive patients in English hospitals are being treated primarily for coronavirus, although the Omicron wave has resulted in a growing minority who are admitted for other conditions but who test positive for Covid-19 as well.

On December 1, a quarter (25.7%) of Covid patients in hospital in England were being treated primarily for other conditions. By December 28, this had risen to a third (33%).

London has seen the biggest rise in both types of Covid patient.

From December 1 to December 28, the number of beds occupied by people being treated mainly for Covid-19 nearly doubled in the capital, from 844 to 1,630.

At the same time, the number of patients who had Covid but who were being treated mainly for other conditions quadrupled, from 180 to 801.

Patients who are in hospital with, but not because of, Covid still place extra pressure on the system.

NHS England says patients who are being treated primarily for other matters still need “treatment in areas that are segregated from patients without Covid”, and the presence of the virus can be a serious complicating factor for their health.

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