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22 Dec, 5 tweets, 3 min read
News of the lockdown was greeted with grim relief by NHS staff on Saturday. On the one hand, it will ease the pressure on hospitals affected by COVID-19. On the other, everyone’s Christmas is affected including NHS staff, many of whom live away from their families. 1/5 Photo: @jometsonscott
NHS hospitals are under huge pressure and expect to remain so until well into January. The number of people testing positive for the virus SARS-CoV-2 has risen sharply and so have hospital admissions with the disease COVID-19. 2/5 https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/
The south-east England and south Wales are worst affected but now some areas of the midlands are seeing high numbers of positive tests as well. With news that the new virus mutation is more infectious, we should prepare for a rebound rise across the UK. 3/5 https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/
We have almost as many COVID-19 patients in NHS hospitals as April (18,000 vs 20,000). But now we're also caring for many more patients with other illnesses. It doesn’t matter where you live or what your health is like. The pandemic affects everyone's healthcare. 4/5 https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/healthcare
Thank you for helping us to help you. None of us are enjoying the current restrictions but the situation in the NHS is real and serious. Please get your news from trusted media sources. Keep up with #HandsFaceSpace and follow the govt guidance carefully. 5/5

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Rupert Pearse Profile picture
24 Dec
Situation in London continuing to deteriorate as expected. Many doctors are worried that other parts of the UK will follow. A lot of misinformation around, so some fairly blunt observations here, for which I apologise. But we all need to understand the equation. 1/10 Image
As with the first wave, the sharp rise in people testing positive for SARS-CoV-2, will be followed by a sharp rise in hospital admissions for COVID-19, and then a similar rise in excess deaths in January.... 2/10 https://www.ons.gov.uk/peop...
….but like all disasters, for every death we can expect many more people to be injured and survive. And so it is with COVID-19. Most hospitalised patients will survive but they will take a long time to recover. Many will experience so-called ‘Long COVID’. 3/10
Read 10 tweets
Rupert Pearse Profile picture
19 Dec
On the intensive care unit today covering a colleague who is unwell, so only time for a brief update this week. You may have seen a lot of coverage that London hospitals are very badly affected by COVID-19 right now. This is all pretty accurate I’m afraid. 1/10 Photo: @jometsonscott
Hospitals in the north of England seem to be stabilising now which is a relief, but the situation in south Wales, east London and the north Kent remains very difficult. COVID patient numbers have doubled where I work in the last week. 2/10 https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/interactive-map
Compared to the first wave, we are looking after a much larger number of patients with ‘usual’ illnesses. Heart attacks, strokes, trauma, cancer surgery etc. NHS staff are getting pulled in lots of directions. 3/10
Read 10 tweets
Rupert Pearse Profile picture
12 Dec
Spoke too soon. Two weeks ago I was hopeful that the second COVID tide was starting to turn. Things weren’t easy but had stabilised and national numbers were down. Now we're seeing rising numbers at national level in and several regions, including where I work in east London. 1/7
The number of people testing positive for SARS Cov-2 is definitely up in the last 7 days, while the number of patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 is beginning to rise, and the number of deaths (which lags behind admissions) was falling but has now levelled off. 2/7 https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/
Government data fit with the independent data from @ICNARC describing intensive care admissions. The number of patients in ICU with COVID-19 appeared to be falling 7 days ago but not any more. 3/7 https://www.icnarc.org/Our-Audit/Audits/Cmp/Reports
Read 7 tweets
Rupert Pearse Profile picture
8 Dec
I’m not a vaccine expert so it’s reasonable to ask why I am confident that I want to be vaccinated for COVID-19. I will have the jab for myself, my family, friends, my work colleagues and even for people I don't know. A few reflections... #DocsForVax 1/9
First of all, I have seen first-hand too many times what COVID can do to people. It’s a truly horrible disease. It damages the lungs, the kidneys, the heart. It causes blood clots. It kills people and those who survive can take a long time to recover. #DocsForVax 2/9 Photo @jometsonscott
As an ICU doctor, I know that every treatment I give can bring benefit or harm to my patient. I routinely balance these risks in my mind. Like all drugs, vaccines can have side-effects, but they will likely be rare compared to the harms of COVID-19. #DocsForVax 3/9
Read 9 tweets
Rupert Pearse Profile picture
5 Dec
Themes of the week: vaccine roll-out, the COVID tide turning, and the lockdown ending. This is where I think we’re at, having talked again with friends across the UK and compared this all with the national data. 1/9
Friends in many (not all) badly hit hospitals tell me the second COVID tide is beginning to turn. BUT the NHS is still really busy keeping surgery services going, as well as winter pressures of acute medical admissions, and then COVID on top of all that. 2/9
News from ground level fits with the national data which show a consistent decrease in numbers of people testing positive for SARS CoV-2, a decrease in patients being admitted to hospital with COVID-19, and in subsequent deaths. 3/9
Read 9 tweets
Rupert Pearse Profile picture
2 Dec
Fantastic news that the first COVID-19 vaccine has been approved for routine use so quickly. Here is why I am happy to be vaccinated and why I want my family and friends to have a vaccine too... 1/10 #InjectionforProtection #DocsforVax
bbc.co.uk/news/health-55…
Widespread vaccination was always our best and only route out of the pandemic. The fewer people who carry the virus, the slower it can spread. By being vaccinated, we protect not only ourselves but our family, friends, work colleagues and so on, even strangers on the bus.... 2/10
The UK has one of the best and strictest drug regulatory processes in the world. Testing new drugs is a thing we are really good at. Anyone who has worked on a clinical trial will vouch for the rigour and safety of @MHRAgovuk and @HRA_Latest processes. 3/10
Read 10 tweets

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