Busy hospital staff caring for more and more patients as Covid-19 cases rise in Wigan

More and more patients are being admitted to Wigan’s hospitals with coronavirus as cases continue to rise.
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Busy NHS staff are caring for more people with the illness, particularly those who have not been vaccinated, according to Dr Sanjay Arya, the medical director for Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (WWL).

They also also treating patients with other conditions, as they work to tackle the backlog caused by the pandemic, and bed occupancy across the trust’s hospitals is very high.

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Dr Arya, a consultant cardiologist, said: “We thought that by the end of February it would be the end of another wave of the pandemic, but unfortunately we are now seeing a further increase in cases of Covid, both in the community as well as in the hospital. We have seen a steady increase in the number of patients with Covid in hospital over the last 10 days and similarly there have been increasing numbers of cases in the community recently.”

A total of 112,352 cases had been confirmed in Wigan when the UK coronavirus daily dashboard was updated on Thursday, up from 112,024 on Wednesday.

WWL was caring for 67 coronavirus patients in hospital on Tuesday last week, NHS England data shows, up from 43 on the same day the previous week.

The number of beds occupied by people who tested positive for Covid-19 more than tripled in the last four weeks – 28 days ago, there were 20.

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This rising number of admissions has led to a very high occupancy rates for beds across the trust, but Dr Arya said staff were dealing well with this.

"We are very proud to say that with our staff working extraordinarily hard and doing extra shifts, we are looking after our patients to the highest standard that we would expect,” he said.

"But because bed occupancy is so high, my request to our patients and our families is that hospital is the best place to come if you are critically ill, but home is the best place to recover. That prevents you getting cross-infections in the hospital too. If you are well and your doctors feel you are now safe to go home, please do take the opportunity to recover at home.”

One of the ways that staff are dealing with the large number of patients is through its virtual ward, a pioneering initiative which is proving to be a success.

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Dr Arya said: “We are the leaders in the north-west of England. We look after patients in their own homes through remote monitoring of their blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, levels of oxygen in the blood and their temperature. We ring them daily and they have access to us if they have any concerns.

“We have the highest number of patients on virtual wards in the North West and patient satisfaction has been tremendous.”

He said patients with and without coronavirus have been treated on the virtual ward, while it has also allowed people waiting for heart surgery to stay at home for longer before their procedure.

Staff across the trust have also been busy with the recovery programme, tackling the backlog after many people saw their operations or procedures postponed due to the pandemic.

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While much elective care was put on hold across Greater Manchester in January, it has now resumed and work is being done to reduce waiting lists.

Dr Arya said: “Despite the increasing admissions due to Covid, we plan to continue with our recovery programme. We would not like to stop our recovery programme, because people have waited for a long time and I feel that this time they should keep going together – looking after Covid patients in hospital and looking after patients who haven’t had their surgery for years.

"We are using the operating theatres at Wrightington Hospital and at Leigh Infirmary, which are two non-Covid sites. This is helping us to deal with the recovery programme.

“My message to the people of Wigan is that if you don’t need the appointment, please do let us know. We have seen high numbers of people not attending for their elective surgery and that means a slot is wasted. If you don’t feel you need it, let us know. Contact the hospital consultant or your GP, so that others can benefit from the slot that you have been given.”

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Dr Arya also urged people to “choose well” if they are ill or injured, considering whether they can get help from a pharmacist or GP for example, rather than going straight to hospital.

Staff are continuing to work hard across the trust, with Dr Arya saying morale was “high”. However, sickness rates have increased as staff or members of their families contract Covid-19.

Despite the continuing spread of coronavirus, the relaxation of restrictions and the end of free testing for most people, Dr Arya remains optimistic about the situation in Wigan, stating that cases are rising far quicker in other parts of Greater Manchester.

He said: “I would say, as a doctor, I am concerned that there are increasing admissions to hospital, but I am also reassured that we are not the worst borough in terms of rates of infection in the community. That suggests our people are taking responsible steps to avoid getting infection.”

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He encouraged people to continue following infection control measures, such as wearing masks in enclosed spaces, and highlighted the importance of getting vaccinated. Fewer people are being treated on the intensive care unit during this current wave as they have been jabbed.

Dr Arya said: “The only way to avoid getting seriously ill from Covid is to get vaccinated. We are seeing people who have received two or three doses are less ill from Covid and we have got patients who have not got themselves vaccinated and are much more poorly. If you have not had the vaccine, please do not delay.”

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