Beds occupied by Covid patients at hospital increases five-fold in a month
Another coronavirus-related death has been confirmed by James Paget University Hospital in Gorleston. Picture: DENISE BRADLEY - Credit: Copyright: Archant 2019
The number of beds occupied by patients with Covid-19 at one Norfolk hospital has increased five-fold in a month.
On December 12, 2020, the number of patients with coronavirus at the James Paget University Hospital in Gorleston stood at 28.
By January 12, 2021, the number had jumped to 146 - an increase of 421pc.
At the same time, the number of adult general and acute beds occupied by non-Covid patients dropped by one-quarter - from 343 patients on December 12 last year down to 255 patients on January 12 of this year.
As of January 12, Covid patients were occupying one-third (36pc) of the JPH's beds - with 255 being used to treat non-Covid patients and 146 used to treat those with the virus.
Meanwhile, between December 13 and January 13, a total of 51 patients who tested positive for coronavirus, and were being treated by the JPH, died - one being a man in his 40s with no underlying conditions.
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For the same dates the month before - November 13 to December 12 2020 - the number of Covid-positive patients who died at the hospital was just 14, meaning deaths have increased almost three-fold between November and January.
The statistics come as Norfolk County Council revealed 200 council staff have been asked to help in Norfolk hospitals to cope with the pressure of treating so many coronavirus patients.
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The council, through the Norfolk Resilience Forum, has been asked if it could provide what is known as mutual aid - making staff available to give the NHS assistance, for the next four weeks - in a move which highlights just how much strain hospitals are under.
More than 91pc of beds at Norfolk's hospitals are full, with more than 770 patients who have tested positive for coronavirus currently being treated. More than 40 are in critical care beds.
Lauren Jaques, Deputy Sister on the Critical Care Complex, shares her video diary on a night shift talking about her Covid-19 experiences. - Credit: Lauren Jacques/Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital
A video diary collated by a critical care nurse at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital said she and her colleagues were "fighting every shift".
Lauren Jaques, 32, from Cringleford, said: "We are fighting to deliver the best care we can to make those who are so ill better. As last night reflected we can't save everybody. It's heart-breaking; it's really, really hard at the moment."
