UK: Covid: hospitals fight sickness and backlogs as latest wave hits

Covid: hospitals fight sickness and backlogs as latest wave hits UK Staff absences adding to workforce problems caused by Brexit, pension disputes and exhaustion, says expert the Guardian

Hospitals are battling staff absences, exhaustion, persistent backlogs and problems discharging patients in the wake of the latest wave of Covid, the Guardian has found, as infection levels continue to rise across the UK.

According to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics, an estimated 2.71 million people in the UK had Covid in the last week of June, an 18% rise on the week before. In England alone, the most recent figures suggest about one in 25 people had a Covid infection.

Hospitalisations with Covid are also rising, with data for 30 June revealing there were 11,316 people in hospital with Covid in the UK, up from 8,350 on 23 June. The number of people in hospital primarily due to Covid is also rising, with 3,749 such patients in England as of 5 July, up from 2,877 on the Tuesday before.

Dr David Strain, senior clinical lecturer at the University of Exeter medical school, said he had seen a rise in people coming to hospital because of Covid, with patients displaying respiratory problems or delirium as a result of the infection.

Strain noted the rise in infections had also had knock-on effects, with staff absences due to Covid adding to other workforce problems caused by Brexit, pension disputes and exhaustion.

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