Harrogate District Hospital has prepared for a second wave of coronavirus this winter by setting aside up to 100 beds for infected patients.
The annual members meeting of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust last night heard the hospital currently has four coronavirus patients.
This is far below the 60 patients at the peak of the pandemic but the trend is heading back in the wrong direction – there were no coronavirus patients at the end of July.
Rising coronavirus cases locally – yesterday’s figure of 19 new infections was the highest daily increase for three weeks – has fuelled fears of a second peak.
But trust bosses are more confident of coping this time.
Read more:
- Daily covid cases reach three-week high in Harrogate district
- First covid death at Harrogate hospital in two months
Tim Gold, chief operating officer at the trust, said at last night’s meeting:
“We are a long way short of the first peak. We know for winter we will need extra beds. We have a really clear plan to open up wards and create up to 100 coronavirus beds. The most important thing is that we know so much more about managing coronavirus than we did.”
Dr Jackie Andrews, medical director at the trust, added it prepared over summer for the “inevitable” next wave of the pandemic:
“It feels very different this time. That is not to say we are being complacent but with the first wave there will be a lot of confusion and chaos. We needed to learn on the go. But the NHS now has proven treatments which can manage the effect of coronavirus on the body.”
The meeting also revealed the trust is currently spending £1 million a month on staffing, testing and PPE to combat coronavirus.
The government has covered this cost retrospectively and has set aside £24 million for the region from October.
