Share this page!

Rupert Pearse Profile picture
Twitter logo
17 Jul, 10 tweets, 4 min read
COVID sitrep: As infections rise exponentially the NHS is again reconfiguring for COVID hospital admissions. This week in the hospital where I work we re-opened our temporary ‘surge’ intensive care unit. The link between infection and serious illness is weaker but not broken 1/10
This from a one my nursing colleagues. It is heart-breaking to think we will again see significant numbers of patients in Intensive Care, and more deaths from COVID-19. 2/10
The virus is all around us. >50,000 infections yesterday. This is why so many are being notified of contacts by the NHS app. Frustrating that newspapers casually call this a ‘ping-demic’ as if it were a software glitch. These are real infections; some will cause real deaths. 3/10 https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/
The number of people admitted to hospital with COVID is rising steadily and has now passed 700 patients/day. We now have almost 4000 people in hospital and 550 COVID patients are being treated in intensive care. The link is weaker but not broken. 4/10 https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/
Most people who need hospital care for COVID have not been vaccinated for various reasons. We are seeing some young, previously healthy patients with COVID. The long-term harms of COVID can affect any of us regardless of our age or health status. 5/10 bbc.co.uk/news/health-57…
We are relaxing public health rules in the midst of the largest wave of COVID infections so far. The proportion of cases which lead to hospital admission is about one quarter of the winter rate. Still a large number. The link is weaker but not broken. 6/10 bbc.co.uk/news/uk-578588…
The current major hotspots for infection are parts of Scotland and the north of England. The NHS regions worst affected in terms of hospital admissions are the North-west of England and the North-east & Yorkshire. 7/10 https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/
We are starting to realise that we will have yet another very difficult winter for the NHS due to a combination of major challenges pulling us in several directions at once. 8/10 acmedsci.ac.uk/more/news/wint…
We are all tired but it’s so important to take our individual responsibility to others seriously. #HandsFaceSpace and fresh air. Accept the vaccine if offered. The benefits far outweigh the risks of death and long-term illness due to COVID. The link is not yet broken. 9/10
The NHS is here for you. Always. We have learned how to plan for waves of COVID admissions. We know how best to treat the disease. We will work hard to keep all NHS services running. We will do our best to save every life. But please #StaySafe 💙10/10

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with Rupert Pearse

Rupert Pearse Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @rupert_pearse

Rupert Pearse Profile picture
10 Jul
COVID sitrep: The latest UK wave continues to grow. The good news is (compared to previous waves) there are definitely fewer hospital admissions in relation to the number of infections. But the number of infections is now very large. TLDR: The link is weaker but not broken. 1/10 @jometsonscott
We are still seeing a significant number of people who need hospital care for COVID. They are mostly people who have not yet been vaccinated. A few have medical problems that leave them at greater risk of infection. Others are young and previously fit & well. 2/10
The daily number of new COVID cases in the UK continues to rise (now more than 35,000/day) and is bigger than the November peak. We expected a peak of infections in late July but as we are relaxing not tightening public health measures, the timing is now harder to predict. 3/10 https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/
Read 10 tweets
Rupert Pearse Profile picture
3 Jul
COVID sitrep: On call for ICU this weekend. We definitely have another wave of COVID hospital admissions in the UK. As we did in Nov ’20, we are projecting a ‘slow burn’ of hospital admissions rather than a third wave. Let’s hope our forecast is more accurate this time….. 1/13
The number of COVID cases diagnosed each day in the UK rose more than 10-fold from ~2000 at the start of May to almost 30,000/day now. Meanwhile COVID-19 admissions to NHS hospitals have doubled to ~250 patients/day in the same period (January ’21 peak was over 4000/day). 2/13 https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/
We have nearly 2,000 hospital in-patients with COVID-19 across the NHS and rising. Of these, nearly ~300 patients are in intensive care beds. This compares to the January peak of nearly 40,000 in-patients with 4,000 in ICU. Small by comparison but still a major epidemic. 3/13 https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/
Read 13 tweets
Rupert Pearse Profile picture
26 Jun
COVID sitrep: We are definitely now entering another wave of hospital admissions in the UK. In the NHS Trust where I work, we are admitting more COVID-19 patients to hospital and more to intensive care, although the pattern seems different to the winter.... 1/8
What we are seeing locally in east London fits with the national pattern of infection rates. The number of patients coming to our hospital group who test positive for COVID had dwindled to single figures but is now back up to 40+ each day and rising. 2/8 https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/
Hospital admissions are rising too. Both older patients yet to take up the invitation to be vaccinated, and young fit patients in their 20’s and 30’s who have not yet had the chance. There are ~1500 COVID patients in NHS hospitals. The January peak was just under 40,000. 3/8 https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/
Read 8 tweets
Rupert Pearse Profile picture
19 Jun
Covid sitrep: Was not planning on doing another one but things are definitely changing on the ground in some NHS hospitals. Vaccination has been a huge help but we are seeing more patients admitted to hospital and to ICU. Frustrating but there are reasons to be hopeful 1/11:
First thing to explain is that although there has definitely been an increase in new admissions to hospital, the numbers are very small. We are reassured by @DHSCgovuk reports that vaccination is reducing the number of severe cases of Covid 2/11. https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/healthcare
The flow of patients with covid needing intensive care had almost stopped for a few weeks but is rising again. ICU staff are seeing a change. Again, the numbers are very small but we also know they start small. 3/11 https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/healthcare
Read 12 tweets
Rupert Pearse Profile picture
13 Mar
COVID sitrep: The situation in NHS hospitals continues to improve as new infections reach the lowest level since mid-September. Lots of green on the map now. Many patients now well enough to be cared for at home. Still lots going on though. 1/9 coronavirus.data.gov.uk
We now have fewer than 10,000 COVID patients in NHS hospitals, and the lowest number since 24th October. A great milestone but still a vast number for a single infectious disease. The NHS is a long way from business as usual. 2/9 coronavirus.data.gov.uk
National patterns can often hide regional variations but it’s great to see both hospital admissions and deaths from COVID now falling in every region of England. 3/9
Read 9 tweets
Rupert Pearse Profile picture
7 Mar
A family member asked me to explain why I wasn’t convinced by a clinical trial of ivermectin. Yet again (apologies) it’s complicated. But here’s ten things for the non-expert can look for to help them understand how much a clinical trial should influence patient care.
1. Beware the tabloid headline: We all want a nice simple message but science just isn’t like that. Clinical trials need careful nuanced interpretation. But media, politicians, and often researchers themselves, want a snappy success story. These are generally misleading.
2. Evidence before eminence: your first impressions should be made by the trial and the data, NOT the researcher(s), however brilliant they may be. In particular, if the reputation of one individual is used strongly in support of the trial findings, then be careful.
Read 13 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Like this author's thread?

Get emails when @rupert_pearse has new unrolls!

Check out other threads from @rupert_pearse!

Read all threads by @rupert_pearse

:(