MORE than 10,000 Covid patients caught the disease in hospital while being treated for other illnesses, with one in six infections taking place on wards it’s reported.
One NHS Trust in England recorded that nearly four in every 10 Covid infections were picked up in its hospitals, The Daily Telegraph reports.
More than 10,000 patients caught Covid-19 in hospital while being treated for other illnesses, new data shows
Almost 40 per cent of coronavirus patients at Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust caught the virus there, new data shows
Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said 139 out of its 357 Covid-19 patients caught the virus there, shocking figures show.
Five patients treated at the Trust’s hospitals died.
At Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust the figure was 36.6 per cent.
Next on the list was Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, with 34.3 per cent of infections picked up at its hospitals.
‘NO JUSTIFICATION’
At Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust 100 patients treated for Covid-19 – around 22 per cent – caught the deadly bug in hospital.
The area saw a surge in cases earlier in the year, with the Trust recording a huge spike rise in Covid deaths during one week in September
The data comes from hospital trusts with A&E departments and covers the period from August 1 to November 29.
Since August, more than 16 per cent of people treated for the disease caught the virus in hospital, the data shows.
It comes as deaths from the virus rose by 533 on Wednesday, with 16,578 more infections recorded.
Today’s infection figure shows a 3.9 per cent increase compared to this time last week – when 16,170 new cases were reported.
The overall death toll now stands at 62,566.
Politicians from both main parties expressed their shock at the figures in The Telegraph report.
Jeremy Hunt, chair of the Health and Social Care Select Committee, said: “We were probably too late in introducing weekly testing for NHS staff last month.
“But now we have, there is absolutely no justification for this level of hospital infections.
“The best hospitals are managing to keep nosocomial infections right down so there needs to be urgent action by those that are failing to do so.”
Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow health minister, said: “These are alarming findings that will cause understandable concern for patients and their loved ones.
“It’s vital robust infection control is in place across hospital trusts and that all frontline staff access ongoing regular routine testing.
“Ministers must put in place measures to stamp out hospital-acquired Covid infections.”
NHS Trusts have been reporting the “probable” cases since August.
Dr Lara Alloway, chief medical officer at Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said that each Covid outbreak was “rigorously investigated”.
Tameside hospital said it had “rigorous infection prevention control measures in place”.
Coronavirus deaths have risen by 533 – just 24 hours after the first vaccine was rolled out in Britain
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