The number of covid patients at Harrogate District Hospital has fallen to single figures.
Amanda Bloor, chief accountable officer at North Yorkshire CCG, told a press briefing of the North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum today just six patients were now being treated at the hospital.
The number was stubbornly high in January and February, peaking at 68 on February 13.
But it has fallen sharply in recent weeks and has now more than halved from 13 last week.
The decline has enabled the hospital to re-open wards that had been allocated to covid patients.
Sixty-nine covid patients are being treated in hospitals serving North Yorkshire, which also includes York, South Tees and Scarborough.
Ms Bloor said:
“We continue to see that downward trend in the numbers. But we do need to continue to follow the national guidance.”
Read more:
- A year of ‘outstanding care’ under immense pressure at Harrogate hospital
- Take a look round harrogate Hospital’s new ICU after its £1 million refurb.
The drop in numbers comes as covid vaccinations continue to be carried out in the district.
A letter from NHS England to hospital bosses across the country warned of a shortage of the Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine from next month.
However, Ms Bloor said health officials have been assured by government there will be enough supply to vaccinate all adults over-50 by April 15.
According to latest NHS England figures, 70,138 first doses have been administered in the Harrogate district so far.
Those over-50 and people with underlying health conditions are currently being invited to book a vaccine appointment.
Harrogate district reports 14 more covid casesA further 14 cases of covid have been confirmed in the Harrogate district today.
The figure, by Public Health England, takes the total number of cases to 7,532.
Meanwhile, the district’s seven-day covid rate has increased to 48 infections per 100,000 people.
Read more:
- Harrogate thalidomide campaigner backs covid vaccine
- Investigation launched into Harrogate Nightingale hospital
The North Yorkshire average is 44, while the England rate is 55.
In the Harrogate district, Killinghall and Hampsthwaite is again the local area with the most covid cases in the last seven-days, with eight infections.
Harrogate East and Harrogate West and Pannal have recorded seven cases each, according to North Yorkshire County Council figures.
No further deaths from patients who tested positive for covid have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital.
Harrogate thalidomide campaigner backs covid vaccineHarrogate thalidomide campaigner Guy Tweedy has said he had no hesitation taking the covid vaccine and has urged others to do likewise.
Businessman Mr Tweedy has been instrumental in the long-running campaign against the German drug company that gave thalidomide to pregnant mothers suffering from morning sickness in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
It led to thousands of babies in the UK, including Mr Tweedy, being born with severe disabilities.
Speaking today, he said “not all drug companies are wonderful” but added he was prepared to have the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab two weeks ago, particularly after listening to Professor Sarah Gilbert, who worked on the vaccine at the university:
“I was more than happy to take the vaccine. As soon as we can get out of this mess the better.”
Read more:
- Harrogate Thalidomide campaigner pays tribute to Sir Harold Evans
- Covid vaccine tally in Harrogate district hits 70,000
Some anti-vaxxers have used the side effects of thalidomide as a reason not to take the covid vaccine.
This prompted Dr Ruth Blue, a consultant for the Thalidomide Society, to describe comparisons between the two as “insulting”.
Mr Tweedy agreed it was wrong to draw comparisons between the impact of thalidomide and the vaccine.
He added:
“It was a nasty, toxic drug and you can’t compare it with the vaccine.”
He advised others to put their concerns to one side and be inoculated.
More than 70,000 people in the Harrogate district have received their first jab.
Mr Tweedy praised the speed of the UK vaccination rollout compared to other European countries.
Harrogate district reports 7 more covid cases“We’ve done a fantastic job.”
There have been 7 more positive covid cases reported in the Harrogate district today.
The total number of confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic is now 7,497.
The district’s seven-day covid rate stands at 44.1 cases per 100,000 people. The national average is 56.6, while the North Yorkshire rate is 50.3.
Read more:
It was revealed yesterday that Harrogate’s coronavirus testing centre is to be moved from the Dragon Road car park to a new location “within the next few months”.
This is because the car park is used by Harrogate Convention Centre which is planning to reopen in June.
Meanwhile, the NHS announced that 70,138 people have now received their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine.
Covid vaccine tally in Harrogate district hits 70,000A total of 70,138 people in the Harrogate district have received their first coronavirus vaccine, according to NHS England figures today.
The data, which covers the period until today, reveals almost 6,000 vaccines have been given in the last week.
North Yorkshire’s health officials insisted yesterday the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is safe and urged people to continue to come forward for their jabs when invited.
However, under-50s will now not be offered a vaccine during April due to supply problems.
Read more:
- Mobile covid tests launched in rural North Yorkshire
- North Yorkshire health chief: Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is safe
Meanwhile, another 12 covid infections have been confirmed in the Harrogate district today by Public Health England.
The district’s seven-day covid rate stands at 39 cases per 100,000 people. The national average is 58, while the North Yorkshire rate is 48.
Harrogate covid testing site to be movedHarrogate’s coronavirus testing centre is to be moved to a new location “within the next few months”, it has been announced.
The current site in the Dragon Road car park, near Asda, opened in October and has the capacity to carry out about 300 swabs a day.
But because the car park is used by Harrogate Convention Centre, which is planning to reopen in June, the Serco-run site will have to be moved.
Cllr Michael Harrison, executive member for adult services and health integration at North Yorkshire County Council, told a meeting today that this would occur “in the next few months” and at a new location in the town to be announced at a later date.
He said:
“Dragon Road car park is an integral part of the convention centre operation so we will be needing to relocate the testing centre somewhere else in the next few months.
“It has been a useful, central site up until now and the intention would be that Harrogate still needs a site for people to be able to go.”
Harrogate Convention Centre has been used as an NHS Nightingale hospital for almost a year. The Nightingale will close next month without treating a single covid patient.
Read more:
- Harrogate Nightingale hospital set to be ‘stood down’
- Call for inquiry into Harrogate’s Nightingale hospital
Paula Lorimer, the centre’s director, said last week the venue was planning for events to return from June 21 when all social distancing restrictions are due to end.
There are, however, questions over when the dismantling of the Nightingale will begin and how long it will take.
Ms Lorimer previously told the Local Democracy Reporting Service:
Harrogate district records second lowest daily covid total in six months“Discussions with colleagues from the NHS about their plans for returning the Harrogate Convention Centre to us are ongoing.
“However, we are confident that the venue will reopen from 21 June in line with government restrictions ending.”
The Harrogate district has recorded its second lowest daily number of covid infections in more than half a year.
Public Health England reported just five cases in today’s figures.
Besides the four infections on 28 February, you have to go back to 13 September to find a lower daily figure.
It means the district’s seven-day rate of infection has fallen to 41 cases per 100,000 people.
The average in North Yorkshire stands at 46 and the national rate is 58.
Read more:
- Coronavirus vaccine reaches more than 64,000 in Harrogate district
- ‘A costly PR stunt’: calls for an inquiry into Harrogate Nightingale
No further deaths from patients who tested positive for coronavirus have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital.
Meanwhile, people in the Harrogate district are receiving invitations for their second dose of a covid vaccine.
The Harrogate Spa Surgery website said it has started to invite patients for their second dose at the Great Yorkshire Showground.
It added that those expecting their second dose must have it at the same site that they received the first vaccine.
‘A costly PR stunt’: calls for an inquiry into Harrogate NightingaleA senior politician from Ripon has described the Harrogate Nightingale as a “costly PR stunt”, amid calls for an inquiry.
Lord Newby’s criticism comes after NHS England said this week the hospital, which cost £27 million to set up, would be decommissioned at the end of the month.
It has not treated a single covid patient, prompting calls for an inquiry.
Lord Newby, the Liberal Democrat leader in the House of Lords, who lives in Ripon, said:
“The Nightingales were a costly PR stunt.
“They could never be used as planned because there was never the staffing for them. They were introduced because the government was desperate to be seen to be responding effectively to the pandemic, which at the time looked to be potentially out of control.
“The Harrogate Nightingale should have been closed months ago, in order to avoid the high cost of maintenance and so that Harrogate could begin to plan for its reopening.”
Jim Clark, a Conservative who represents Harrogate Harlow on Harrogate Borough Council, repeated his
call for an inquiry on BBC Look North yesterday.
He told the programme:
“It wasn’t an insurance policy in Harrogate because we didn’t have the staff to man it and I think it’s then been discovered that as soon as it was built it wasn’t essentially fit for purpose.”
The Stray Ferret asked Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative MP Andrew Jones and Richard Cooper, leader of the Conservative-controlled Harrogate Borough Council whether they supported calls for an inquiry. Neither replied.
Read more:
Asked the same question on Look North, Cllr Cooper said the location of the Nightingale Hospitals was likely to be considered as part of a wider covid inquiry. He added:
“But we’ve been pleased to host the Nightingale and to host the thousands of diagnostic tests that have been carried out there.”
Pat Marsh, leader of the Liberal Democrats on Harrogate Borough Council, supported calls for an inquiry, adding:
“Over a decade of Conservative cuts has led to an NHS operating on a shoestring. Whether there was ever the staff to run such a Nightingale hospital, should it have been toward full capacity, needs to be made clear.”
Margaret Smith, chair of Harrogate and Knaresborough Labour Party, said the Nightingales were “a legitimate insurance policy” in the early days of covid when it seemed hospitals could be overwhelmed. She added:
“There seems little point in wasting any more public money on an inquiry at this stage.”
Dramatic fall in number of covid patients at Harrogate hospital
The number of patients at Harrogate District Hospital with coronavirus has more than halved in a week.
Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust revealed today the hospital currently has 18 coronavirus patients compared with 42 last week — a reduction of 24.
At its peak, there were 67 people in the hospital with the virus and the number had remained stubbornly high in recent weeks despite the declining covid infection rate locally.
Amanda Bloor, accountable officer for North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group, told a press briefing today the current covid wave had been “long and hard” on hospital staff but that the situation was finally improving.
“The trend is very much in the downward direction and that’s very positive and where we want to see it.”
Read more:
Ms Bloor also commented on the Harrogate Nightingale hospital, which NHS England confirmed this week will be decommissioned and returned to Harrogate Borough Council from next month.
She added:
One more covid death confirmed at Harrogate hospital“It’s the right time to stand the Nightingale down but we’re lucky we had it there.
“Throughout the last year, it’s been a vital insurance policy in our approach to managing covid.
“It also provided a valuable role supporting routine care as well as safe and fast access to CT scanning.”
Another patient who had tested positive for coronavirus has died at Harrogate District Hospital, according to today’s figures from NHS England.
The death, which was registered yesterday, brings the total number of deaths at the hospital to 167 since the start of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, seven new cases of covid have been confirmed in the Harrogate district today by Public Health England.
The total number of confirmed cases in the district since the start of the outbreak now stands at 7,391.
The Harrogate district seven-day covid rate has fallen to 42 per 100,000 people. This is lower than the rate for England which is 60,
Read more: