Covid-19 admissions may be plateauing, says health boss
Health chiefs in the region say Covid hospital admissions may be levelling off after a steady decline in recent weeks.
David Carruthers, acting chief executive of Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, said that in the middle of last month admissions for coronavirus patients exceeded the previous peak from earlier in the pandemic, with 240 patients leaving intensive care units “really stretched”.
However, he said there were “early signs” the number of admissions “may be plateauing”, with a decline over the past two weeks attributed to a drop in case numbers in the borough.
According to NHS figures, daily hospital admissions across the Black Country, Birmingham and Staffordshire fell by seven per cent in the week ending November 24.
New figures due out in the coming days are expected to show a further decline due to national lockdown measures.
In a report to the Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust board, Dr Carruthers said: “There are some early signs that we may be plateauing in the number of admissions as the community rates slowly fall.
"There were some particularly busy weeks in mid-November with total numbers of inpatients exceeding those that peaked in March/April with over 240 patients and ITU capacity really stretched.”
He said non-Covid admissions were at roughly twice the level of Covid admissions, adding: “We have been in a position to accept patients from other units ITUs and the team are working hard on early discharge of patients.”
Meanwhile, Dr Carruthers said the trust was in the process of developing a service to support patients with ‘long Covid’, which can see patients suffering from a range of symptoms for months on end.
He said that while the vast majority of patients will make a full recovery “even from the severe episodes of lung inflammation”, there are long term effects, including muscle pains and mental health issues.
Dr Carruthers said the trust was “starting to look at how this may be managed effectively” and was setting up a project group to “establish the best approach to develop a service that provides care at local and regional level”.
The trust runs Sandwell Hospital and City Hospital.
