NI hospital admissions for Covid may soon exceed first peak in April, says Health Minister Robin Swann
and live on Freeview channel 276
Robin Swann said cases of the virus are currently doubling every 10 days, and hospital admissions every nine days.
“If current trends remain unabated, hospital inpatients will exceed those of wave one in one-two weeks and ICU inpatients will exceed wave one shortly afterwards,” he said in a statement to the Assembly.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdEarlier Northern Ireland recorded a new daily high in the number of Covid cases (1,299) as part of a total of 6,708 new positive cases notified in the last seven days.
As of Friday, there were 213 patients with Covid-19 being treated in hospital, with 26 in intensive care.
There were also two deaths reported on Friday, taking the toll recorded by the department to 608.
In his weekly update to MLAs, Mr Swann said the increase in cases “far outstripped” the increase in testing since the start of the pandemic.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdHe said while there are some early indications that the previous Northern Ireland-wide restrictions are starting to make an impact, the levels of prevalence “remain deeply concerning however and are still among the highest in Europe”.
Turning to the impact on the health service, the minister said due to the rising number of patients and numbers of staff self-isolating, all trusts are experiencing pressures in their emergency departments.
Mr Swann said the department’s response plan focuses on 10 key actions to be rapidly implemented.
These include structured collaboration between primary and secondary care; working towards a phone first model to improve access to clinical advice and reduce unnecessary attendance at emergency departments; scheduling urgent care through appointments to reduce waiting room overcrowding and waits for treatment; avoiding unnecessary admission to hospital and timely discharge from hospital.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad“These actions will support the development of an enhanced range of safe and effective elective and unscheduled care services to patients which do not rely on patients presenting at an ED,” Mr Swann said.
“The underlying intention of all of the actions is to make sure patients can access the care they need, in the right setting, as quickly as possible.”
A message from the Editor:
Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.
With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdSubscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Ireland and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.
Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.
Alistair Bushe
Editor