Sheffield hospital bosses issue update as Covid-19 patients pass 100

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, which runs the Royal Hallamshire and Northern General hospitals, today said it now has 115 Covid-19 patients, 10 of whom are in intensive care.

That is up from 90 on Monday and around 20 a month ago, though the trust has pointed out that it remains well below the levels seen back in April and there is currently plenty of capacity to cope with the demand.

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Dr Jennifer Hill, medical director (operations) at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Unfortunately we have had another increase this week in the number of patients admitted with Covid-19 and we now have just over 100 patients receiving care.

"However, this is nowhere near the numbers we cared for in the first peak and we are not cancelling operations or appointments due to the increase in cases at this time. Anyone who has a planned operation or appointment should attend as usual unless we tell you otherwise.

"Of course we are monitoring the situation carefully, but we are prepared, and of course this time we have the benefit of significantly more knowledge about the virus and how to cope with a surge in cases.

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"We would once again ask everyone to help us by following the simple rules of keeping your distance from others, washing your hands regularly and wearing a mask. If we all do this, I know as a respiratory doctor that this will make a difference.”

On Wednesday, October 14, it was confirmed that a further three patients who were being treated by the trust with Covid-19 had died. They were among 12 patients at hospitals across Yorkshire whose deaths were announced that day – the most in a single day since June.

As of Thursday morning, Sheffield had the eighth highest Covid-19 infection rate in England.

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During the week ending on October 10 – the latest date for which reliable figures were available – 2,680 new cases were reported, giving a weekly infection rate of 458.2 cases per 100,000 people, up from 347.8 the previous week.