Shropshire Covid hospital deaths 'lower than expected' but inpatient numbers 'much higher' in third wave
Coronavirus inpatient numbers at Shropshire’s main hospitals were “much higher” in the third wave than in the previous two, but deaths were “lower than expected”, trust bosses will hear this week.
A report says the pandemic has prompted the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) to plan new facilities for respiratory patients, after the winter surge “highlighted the constraints” of its sites’ current set up.
Large vaccination sites at Ludlow Racecourse and Shrewsbury Indoor Bowls Centre are running “at or near full capacity” while Telford’s International Centre has an “improving fill rate”, it adds.
SaTH medical director Arne Rose will present the Covid-19 Report to the trust’s board when it meets remotely on Thursday.
It says: “The third wave of Covid-19 intensified during January 2021, resulting in a significant increase in the number of patients hospitalised, a number of whom required intensive support in our high-dependency and ITU [intensive treatment unit] areas of both hospital sites.
“There is emerging evidence that our mortality for Covid patients has been lower than expected. This may be due to the effort by our base ward and respiratory teams applying enhanced ventilation techniques on wards, thus preventing patients being admitted to critical care.
“This aspect of the pandemic highlighted our constraints regarding lack of suitable estate and the lack of a designated respiratory high dependency unit at SaTH; an initial business case has been approved at the Innovation and Investment Committee.”
Military
The scale and length of the third wave meant staff from Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust, the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and the military were redeployed to staff the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Princess Royal Hospital wards and emergency department, the report says.
“The overall bed occupancy of Covid-19 patients was much greater than the peak experienced in the first and second waves of the pandemic, reaching a peak of 165 patients on January 29,” it adds.
“At the same time we have been effective in rolling out the vaccination programme to the first four priority cohorts of the population.
“SaTH are the leader provider for the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin vaccination programme, with all other partners playing a part in delivering the programme.
“The number of first vaccinations has passed 180,000 – over a third of the population.
“Telford International Centre, Ludlow Racecourse and Shrewsbury Bowling Green are operating as large vaccination sites, with the latter two near or at full capacity and TIC having an improving fill rate.”
During February, Telford & Wrekin Council leader Shaun Davies criticised the NHS’s England-wide central booking system for leaving the TIC with too few patients and having to send unutilised volunteers and medics home.
He said that, on Tuesday, February 10, the conference venue in the town centre saw just 100 vaccinations administered, despite having capacity for 15 times that.
