COVID sitrep: The situation in NHS hospitals hasn’t changed much since last week. A worry in itself. The number of patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 continues to rise slowly. The current COVID wave now seems certain to combine with winter pressures in November. 1/10
The daily number of COVID infections continues to trend steadily upwards, as does the number of patients admitted to hospital. This means the NHS COVID workload is building. 2/10
It takes a long time to recover from severe COVID. Patients stay in hospital for some time. The NHS workload is best reflected in the number of patients in hospital, which remains high. Even if this turned round soon, many patients would still be in hospital in December. 3/10
Similar picture with Intensive Care. The number of COVID patients in ICU beds is now close to 1000: Just over one fifth of our national ICU bed capacity. Healthcare which is not available for other services such as major surgery. Anxiety about ICU beds is growing. 4/10
We’re now thinking about the inevitable winter pressures. Will the limited public health measures be enough to control seasonal ‘flu and other infections? Will pressures on Emergency Depts ease? Can we maintain other services such as cardiac, cancer and stroke care? 5/10
Some good news about vaccination this week: Research in the UK from @JuliaHCox & team show COVID vaccines are very safe. Side effects do happen but rarely. Meanwhile the same harms (eg thrombosis) occur more often and are more severe with COVID. 6/10
The good news on vaccination safety is important, because we are now beginning to ask the inevitable question: When should COVID booster doses be given? Should we share vaccine doses with less well-off countries first? 7/10
bbc.co.uk/news/health-58…
Another reason vaccination is important: A scientific paper out today in @TheLancetInfDis shows a higher risk of hospital admission for unvaccinated people in the UK infected with the SARS-CoV-2 delta variant compared to alpha. 8/10 thelancet.com/journals/lanin…
This week’s @WHO map reminds us that COVID is a global problem. 655,000 new infections per day. Sharing vaccines with other countries seems increasingly important to keep ourselves safe. None of us are safe until we’re all safe. 9/10
Like all of society, the NHS is struggling to find its rhythm. A substantial COVID workload while we are doing our best to run usual NHS services as normal. Lots of challenges in recent weeks. Thanks for your faith and support. #HandsFaceSpace & fresh air #DocsForVax💙 10/10
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