Hospital bosses in Harrogate have warned that the number of patients requiring treatment for winter infections remain high.

Dr Matt Shepherd, Deputy Chief Operating Officer and consultant in emergency medicine at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust said bed occupancy at the hospital remains high at 90%.

The hospital is currently dealing with patients suffering from winter infections, such as flu and coronavirus. Health officials in Harrogate recently urged people to dial 101 if their illness or injury was not serious.

According to the NHS England figures, the hospital is also treating 25 covid patients.

This comes as the district’s seven-day covid rate stands at 417 per 100,000 people, with a total of 880 covid cases in the last seven days.

Dr Shepherd said historically, pressures tended to ease during the spring. But this was now uncertain due to coronavirus and the lack of national restrictions.

He said:

“Historically, as we approach spring, the pressures have tended to reduce, however, as we are still dealing with the covid-19 pandemic this is not certain.

“Currently bed occupancy at our hospitals remain high at around 90 percent, a similar figure to February.”

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Dr Shepherd added that the pandemic was also having an effect on waiting lists. He said:

“The covid-19 pandemic certainly impacted on waiting lists for operations and one of our major priorities has been to cut the backlog.  

“The increased number of planned operations that are being performed has meant we have more patients occupying beds following their surgery.”

Dr Shepherd said the hospital also had 40 patients who no longer required care, but cannot be discharged because they do not have a suitable place to return to in order to recover.

Despite the continued pressures from covid, the hospital has since relaxed its visiting restrictions.

However, those visiting the hospital will still be required to wear a mask, sanitise their hands and abide by social distancing.

Dr Shepherd said:

“We are pleased to have recently been able to relax visiting restrictions, but anyone entering our hospitals will still need to wear a mask, ensure they sanitise their hands and maintain social distancing.  

“Following these protocols will help us to protect our patients, but also our staff. Reducing the risk of our staff catching covid-19 will help us to maintain appropriate staffing levels so our patients’ care is not disrupted.”

Sir Robert Ogden, the self-made businessman and philanthropist who opened a cancer centre at Harrogate District Hospital, has died aged 86.

Sir Robert made his fortune in the mining, quarrying and building industries and donated to charities, in particular those connected to cancer care.

He was also a leading racehorse owner and co-owned See More Business, which won the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the King George VI Chase at Kempton Park.

Born in Wibsey, Bradford, in January 1936, Sir Robert was the eldest of six children. His father Albert was a master builder.

He lived in Sicklinghall, near Wetherby, where he kept his stables.

In 2001, he was awarded a knighthood for his services to charity which included the opening of the Sir Robert Ogden Macmillan Centre at Harrogate District Hospital.

The centre was opened in March 2014 and continues to offer cancer treatment and health and wellbeing services to patients today.

We're very sad to hear Sir Robert Ogden has passed away. We're eternally grateful for his generosity – it helped us to establish the Sir Robert Ogden Macmillan Centre at our hospital. Thank you Sir Robert for your support. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. pic.twitter.com/NwAGA5bBnG

— Harrogate NHS FT (@HarrogateNHSFT) March 9, 2022

The hospital said:

“We’re very sad to hear Sir Robert Ogden has passed away. We’re eternally grateful for his generosity — it helped us to establish the Sir Robert Ogden Macmillan Centre at our hospital.

“Thank you Sir Robert for your support. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.”

South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs a similar centre in Northallerton opened by Sir Robert, also paid tribute to him.

A spokesperson said:

“Sir Robert was a huge supporter of charities and generously helped improve cancer services in the region.

“We’ll always be grateful for his support. Our thoughts are with his family at this difficult time.”

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Successful racehorse owner

As well as charities, Sir Robert was a successful racehorse owner.

His mauve and pink checked silks were carried to victory by horses including Voy Por Ustedes and Exotic Dancer.

He also owned Cheltenham Gold Cup runner-up Exotic Dancer and top horses over the jumps, including Ad Hoc, Marlborough, Star De Mohaison, Fadalko and Squire Silk.

Former jockey and Gold Cup winning trainer, Jonjo O’Neil, paid tribute to Sir Robert.

He said:

“Very sad to hear that Sir Robert Ogden has passed away.

“We enjoyed some incredible days with Exotic Dancer, notably winning the Lexus and a second in the Gold Cup.

“He was a wonderful gentleman who will be sadly missed. My thoughts are with his family and friends.”

Sir Robert died peacefully at home on March 6, 2022.

He is survived by his second wife Lady Ana Ogden and his two sons Adam and Robert from his first marriage.

In memory of Sir Robert, a donation page has been set up at the University of Leeds to help support research into brain cancer. You can donate and find more information here.

From Tuesday, the rules for people visiting patients in Harrogate and Ripon’s hospitals will be relaxed following a decline in covid infections.

On December 23, Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust tightened visitor restrictions because of the Omicron variant and the subsequent rise in infections. At one point the Harrogate district had the highest covid rate in North Yorkshire.

Visitors were only allowed for patients on end of life care, patients with a learning disability or severe cognitive impairment such as dementia. Parents or carers of children and birthing partners were also permitted.

But from Tuesday, patients can have one visitor, by appointment, between 2-4pm for 30 minutes.  Only two visitors will be allowed in each bay at any one time.

Visitors are asked to book appointments by phone from Monday.

Bookings should be made directly with the ward where a patient is staying.

For Harrogate District Hospital call 01423 885959. For Ripon Community Hospital call 01423 542900 between 10am and 4pm and ask to be put through the relevant ward.

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Also from Tuesday, outpatients will be allowed to have one person accompany them to a hospital appointment.  All visitors will have to wear a mask and sanitise their hands when they arrive.

Harrogate hospital managers warned yesterday that “high numbers of very sick patients” is causing long waiting times.

They added that people with less urgent issues are experiencing long waits.

The news comes weeks after Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust reported that it had reached maximum bed capacity at the start of February due to covid and winter pressures.

In a post on its social media, the trust urged people to call the NHS on 111 unless they had a life-threatening or severe illness or injury.

It said:

“During this week at Harrogate District Hospital we are experiencing high numbers of very sick patients, and due to this the hospital is very full. As a result, patients with less urgent issues may experience longer waiting times than usual.

“This isn’t ideal and we will endeavour to keep waiting times as short as possible. We know that patients can be in pain, stressed or scared, and our dedicated team with do everything they can to help.

“Your health is our utmost priority and all we ask for in return is our staff are treated respectfully and do not have to face verbal or physical abuse as they try to do their job.

“Unless you have a life-threatening or severe illness or injury, we would ask you to contact NHS 111 first.”

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Steve Russell. chief executive of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, is to take up a secondment as national director for covid and flu vaccinations at NHS England.

Mr Russell will replace Dr Emily Lawson in a role that could last up to a year.

He will leave the trust for the time being on Friday next week.

Steve Russell

Angela Schofield, chairman of the trust, which runs Harrogate District Hospital and Ripon Community Hospital, said in a statement today:

“Steve’s new role will take him away from HDFT for at least six months and potentially up to a year.

“I know that, while he is looking forward to this new opportunity, he is eager to return to HDFT.

“We are very fortunate to have a strong executive team and board, which has meant we have the resilience in place that has allowed Steve to take up this opportunity.

“While Steve is away we need experienced leadership to maintain our progress and I am delighted to let you know that Jonathan Coulter, who is currently deputy chief executive and our director of finance, will become acting chief executive, and Jordan McKie, our deputy director of finance, will take up the role of acting director of finance.

Jonathan Coulter

Mr Russell announced the move on Twitter this afternoon.

https://twitter.com/steve_r76/status/1494330025524416518

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Almost 800 Harrogate District Hospital patients were allowed to return to their care homes without being tested for covid, it has been revealed.

Figures obtained by the Local Democracy Reporting Service provide the clearest picture yet on how patients were moved between the hospital and care homes – a practice which is believed to have fuelled infections amongst the most vulnerable.

The figures show a total of 788 patients were discharged into care homes without being tested between March 2020 and November 2021.

But the hospital says it has followed national guidance on when to carry out tests and that “patient health and safety is our primary concern”.

It also said the figures will include patients who were tested before arriving at the hospital, although it added “we do not record this information”.

Russell Nightingale, chief operating officer at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, said: 

“During the covid pandemic, steps were taken to ensure patients could continue to be looked after in a safe environment – this was especially important for vulnerable and elderly people.

“A policy was introduced on April 15, 2020, requiring inpatients who were being discharged from hospital to a care home to have a covid test.

“Only patients who had received a negative covid test were discharged.

“If they tested positive, infection prevention measures were put in place for the individual to prevent the virus from spreading and so that the patient could be treated appropriately.

“They would remain in hospital for the required period before they were discharged.”

However, this approach did not apply to patients attending appointments or the emergency department who were allowed to return to their care homes without being tested.

And crucially, the testing of inpatients was only introduced by the government in April 2020 – almost three months after the first covid case was detected in England and when there was no protection from vaccines.

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It is thought covid was transmitting at a much quicker rate than was known at these early stages in the pandemic, and once inside a care home it often spread to residents with devastating consequences.

410 care home deaths in North Yorkshire

Since the start of the pandemic, a total of 410 covid deaths have been reported by North Yorkshire care homes which have had to deal with PPE and testing shortages, as well as ever changing government guidance on visiting restrictions.

Harrogate hospital said it was not impacted by the testing shortages.

But Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones said the government did recognise there were “challenges” with testing as he also praised staff at the hospital for their efforts during the pandemic.

Mr Jones said: 

“It seems clear to me that the staff at Harrogate hospital sought to deal with patients in the safest and most practical way during the pandemic.

“This must have been extremely difficult for them particularly in the early days of the pandemic when the world was fighting against something new and about which medical science knew little but could see it was deadly for many.

“There were also challenges with protective equipment supply, testing capability was still limited and hospitalisation rates were high.

“The description they have given about their testing regime would seem to most people to be practical and credible with patient safety at its heart.

“I want to again put on record my thanks to the clinical staff and also to the non-clinical support staff for ensuring the highest standards of patient care in unprecedented circumstances.”

Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust has paid consultants £82,000 to investigate concerns of a “culture of bullying” within the organisation.

Deloitte was commissioned for £30,000 to examine concerns about leadership and culture at the trust and Harrogate Integrated Facilities, a a wholly-owned subsidiary that supplies services to Harrogate District Hospital and community services.

A 2018 national NHS staff survey, a British Medical Association member survey and the trust’s own ‘fair and just culture’ diagnostic had triggered concerns.

After it found issues in some areas of the service, the trust commissioned Deloitte for a further £52,000 to undertake a detailed review of leadership and recruitment practices at HIF which was published at a trust board meeting in June 2020.

Deloitte’s report said some staff described the culture at HIF as “toxic”. It cited cases of people being ignored or ostracised, belongings defaced with offensive graffiti and people’s lockers and equipment being glued.

£82,000 culture review

The initial review included interviews with 52 members of staff and 63 surveys. It found “widespread concerns” over bullying, leadership and poor recruitment practice at HIF.

The report said a “significant number” of those interviewed explicitly stated that bullying was taking place or described events that could be labeled as such. It added some of the reports were dismissed as “banter”.

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Deloitte also found that the approach to recruitment at HIF “did not demonstrate good practice” and recommended a thorough review of its policies.

As a result, the trust launched a formal investigations into the findings.

Trust ‘confident’ it has addressed report findings

The Stray Ferret asked the trust how it had addressed poor recruitment at HIF and whether any staff members were disciplined as a result of the investigation.

The trust said it was confident its recruitment policy complied with company policy and that it had addressed Deloitte’s findings.

Steve Russell, chief executive of HDFT, said:

“In 2018, we conducted a staff survey which showed that whilst staff at both HDFT and our subsidiary company Harrogate Integrated Facilities generally had positive experiences, there were some experiences that were not in line with the trust’s values.

“We felt that a more detailed assessment of culture at HDFT and HIF was required to help us to understand the issues. It was important that the assessment was independent, objective and avoided conflicts of interest to ensure we had an accurate picture of what we were doing well, but more importantly what we needed to improve on.

“Deloitte was commissioned at an initial cost of £30,000 to undertake the assessment. This revealed a number of issues that needed to be addressed in a small number of services, and we decided therefore to commission a second piece of work from Deloitte at a cost of £52,000, which explored in much greater detail the areas of concern that had been identified.

“The concerns have been treated as a matter of priority. An investigation into the issues identified within our radiology department was undertaken by two experienced people who were independent of the trust and each other. Their finding and recommendations have been used to improve the environment for our staff.

“A formal investigation into allegations and harassment in estates and HIF was undertaken by colleagues within the trust. A capacity and capability review of leadership in HIF was also conducted by an independent, experienced NHS director of estates and facilities. This review has led to changes within the company. We are confident that recruitment practices now comply with the company’s policy.

“There are a number of other changes we have made in line with the plan we published at the time of the Deloitte review to improve the experience of colleagues who work here and this work will continue.”

Harrogate District Hospital reached maximum bed occupancy this month, with all 292 beds filled.

Figures published by NHS England show that on February 4 the hospital was at maximum capacity although the situation has improved slightly since.

The hospital is currently operating at 90% bed occupancy, as it battles covid and winter pressures, say trust managers.

Officials at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust said the hospital was dealing with a “variety of winter infections”, such as flu and the Omicron variant of covid.

Russell Nightingale, chief operating officer at the trust, said the hospital reached maximum bed occupancy last week “for a short period of time”.

He said:

“Our trust’s primary purpose is to ensure the best possible healthcare service for patients in our care.

“Winter is always a busy time of the year at Harrogate District Hospital as we deal with a variety of winter infections such as flu and the Omicron variant of covid, in addition to all other regular activity.

“Bed occupancy rates are always increasing during the winter months and last week for a short period of time we did reach maximum bed occupancy rates.

“Currently we are at around 90% bed occupancy rates; however we do have process in place to deal with such eventualities and to ensure we can continue to look after our patients.”

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Mr Nightingale said “we do not want patients spending longer than they need to in our hospital” and that tye trust worked with other agencies, such as North Yorkshire County Council, to support them after discharge.

He added:

“We also have our Same Day Emergency Care Unit, which is rapidly assessing and treating patients to reduce the number of patients staying overnight and supporting those who are ready to be discharged and would benefit from being out of a hospital environment.”

The Harrogate district’s covid rate has fallen below 1,000 for the first time in two months.

Currently, the district’s seven-day average stands at 890 per 100,000 people.

It’s the first time the rate has dropped below 1,000 since December 22.

However, the number remains above the county-wide average, which is 684 and the England rate of 709.

Latest figures from Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust show 26 patients are currently being treated at the hospital – down on 30 last week.

UK Health Security Agency data shows the daily number of positive covid cases is 191.

Meanwhile, the number of positive patients with covid who have died at Harrogate District Hospital since March 2020 stands at 221.

The latest death was reported on February 5, according to NHS England figures.

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The number of patients who tested positive for covid at Harrogate District Hospital has fallen.

Latest figures from Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust show 30 patients are currently being treated at the hospital – down on 34 last week.

Meanwhile, the district’s seven-day covid rate has also fallen to 1,175 cases per 100,000 people.

But this remains above the county-wide average which is 856 and the England rate of 873.

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UK Health Security Agency data shows the daily number positive covid cases yesterday was 158.

No further deaths from patients who tested positive for coronavirus have been reported at Harrogate hospital, according to NHS England figures.

The death toll at the hospital since March 2020 remains at 220.