Record high of hospital Covid cases as Shropshire health crisis and 'critical incident' continues

While the rest of the county is 'living with Covid' the impact on the health service remains significant, with a 'critical incident' declared for Shropshire's health system now stretching into a tenth day.

The county's major hospitals have this week recorded their highest number of Covid patients for the entire pandemic, while eight per cent of staff have been off sick – more than half of which are due to Covid.

The situation has also hit care homes in the county, with more than 30 being unable to admit people at stages over the past two weeks due to Covid cases.

There has been a knock-on effect on under-pressure hospitals, with further difficulties in discharging 'healthy' patients.

Up to 10 GP practices have also been impacted, with staff sickness leaving them having to run 'business continuity plans', where services are reduced.

West Midlands Ambulance Service is also experiencing extreme pressure on services, with one reported wait of up to 22 hours for an ambulance in recent days.

It comes as Boris Johnson has said he cannot rule out the possibility of future lockdowns.

Speaking on Friday, Mr Johnson said: "I’m not going to take any options off the table."

He added: "I can’t rule out something.

"I can’t say we wouldn’t be forced to do non-pharmaceutical interventions again of the kind we did.

"I think it would be irresponsible of any leader in any democracy to say that they are going to rule out something that can save lives."

The current problems for Shropshire's health system have been illustrated by the declaration of a 'system-wide critical incident' – affecting all aspects of the county's health services.

The situation is one repeated across the country, with health trusts and ambulance services across England issuing similar warnings.

The Shropshire incident was declared on Tuesday, March 29, and is ongoing. Previous critical incidents which have affected Shrewsbury & Telford Hospital NHS Trust have usually been declared over within two days.

When the incidents are declared some services are stopped so staff can be re-directed to help in other areas.

Simon Whitehouse, chief executive designate of the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care System, said: “We currently have more than 160 covid patients in our hospitals, having reached almost 170 earlier this week – the highest number we have seen throughout the pandemic – and this is leading to extreme pressure across our health and care system.

“Staff sickness rates are running at about eight per cent, which is more than double what we would usually expect to see. Covid is accounting for more than half of this figure.

“This is not just affecting our hospitals. We have care homes closed to admissions and several GP practices running business continuity plans due to clinical staff being absent.

“We are doing everything that we can to improve the position and we apologise for any negative impact this has on an individual’s experience of our health and care services.

“Our hospitals have already taken the difficult decision to step down some routine and outpatient surgical services so that staff can be redeployed to strengthen our urgent and emergency care teams. We hope this intervention will prove to be short-lived."

Mr Whitehouse urged people to do what they can to help by taking actions to prevent the spread of Covid.

He said: “I would ask the public to please wash hands regularly, keep a distance and wear masks in crowded settings.

“We also continue to ask patients to seek alternatives to attending A&E where appropriate. Please use the NHS App or NHS111 for advice, and remember that local pharmacies can also help you to manage most routine illnesses.

"A&E remains open for emergencies and urgent care needs.”