Harrogate hospital records another covid death

Harrogate District Hospital has reported another covid death, according to latest NHS England figures.

It takes the death toll at the hospital from covid since March 2020 to 189.

According to NHS figures, the death was reported on September 30.

The number of patients in Harrogate hospital being treated for covid stands at 10.

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Meanwhile, the Harrogate district has reported 130 daily covid cases according to today’s Public Health England figures.

The district’s seven-day covid rate has also fallen to 549 per 100,000 people.

The North Yorkshire average is 445 and the England rate stands at 333.

Speaking last week, Louise Wallace, director of public health for North Yorkshire, said the rise in infections across the county was being “driven by school-age children”.

She said:

“From what we can in the terms of the age bandings from the most recent cases, they do seem to be coming from school children and young people.”

Elsewhere, 128,252 people have received a first covid vaccine in the Harrogate district and 120,590 have had a second dose.

Harrogate hospital records another covid death

Harrogate District Hospital has recorded another death of a patient who tested positive for covid.

According to latest NHS statistics, the death was reported on Wednesday.

It takes the death toll from covid at the hospital since March 2020 to 188.

Meanwhile, 132 covid cases have been reported in the district, according to today’s Public Health England figures.

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The district’s seven-day covid rate has increased to 408 per 100,000 people, while the North Yorkshire average is 355 and the England rate stands at 287.

Elsewhere, 127,957 people have received a first covid vaccine in the Harrogate district and 119,918 have had a second dose.

Your chance to be a DJ at Harrogate Hospital Radio

Harrogate Hospital Radio is inviting people to tour the station and even try being a DJ on air.

The charity broadcaster, which is run by volunteers and based in Harrogate District Hospital, will host an open day from 9am to 6pm on Saturday, October 2,

Visitors will be given a tour of the studios, have the opportunity to watch a show being broadcast live and have the chance to get behind a microphone and take on the role of a presenter.

At the beginning of September, Harrogate Hospital Radio became one of the first hospital radio stations to broadcast on FM.

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Harrogate Hospital Radio chairman Mark Oldfield said:

“This open day is aimed at informing the public of the role we provide to patients within the hospital, as well as hopefully recruiting new members.

“They will be able to find out about our broadcasting journey today, which has taken us from broadcasting from a single room with one turntable, one reel-to-reel tape player and one microphone, to the state-of-the-art studios we have now.

“For those interested in a broadcasting career, Hospital Radio is a great place to start. Some of the country’s best-known presenters, including Chris Evans, began their career this way.

“For those who aren’t looking for a presenting role, we have plenty of opportunities to help behind the scenes. Request collecting is one of the most important and rewarding roles there is.”

You can book a time slot to attend by contacting events@harrogatehospitalradio.org.uk.

Fall in number of Harrogate hospital covid patients

The Harrogate district has reported another 73 covid cases today, but the number of patients in hospital has fallen.

The district’s seven-day covid rate stands at 361 per 100,000 people, while the North Yorkshire average is 308 and the England rate is 287.

No further covid deaths have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital, according to latest NHS England figures.

It was revealed today that the number of covid patients at Harrogate hospital has fallen slightly.

As of yesterday, there were eight patients at the hospital – down from 11 at the same time last week. The fall has been mirrored across North Yorkshire where patient numbers have fallen by 10 to 122.

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The number of patients in intensive care, however, has gone up by six to 26.

The latest figures were provided by Amanda Bloor, accountable officer for the North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group, who in an update to a meeting of North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum today also said covid and flu vaccines would be key to minimising pressure on the NHS this winter.

She said: 

“Winter is always the NHS’s busiest time of year and we expect that to be the same this year.

“In addition, there are still covid patients in our hospitals, we are working together to address the waiting lists which have arisen due to the pandemic and we also still have full covid measures in place.

“The flu vaccination programme is one of the ways we can help protect hospital capacity this winter by helping people stay healthy and well and out of hospital.

“We would like to see as many people as possible get the flu vaccination this winter and will share information through the months ahead to support people with this.”

350 Harrogate hospital staff not fully vaccinated against covid

About 350 frontline staff at Harrogate hospital have not been fully vaccinated against covid, it has been revealed, as a consultation on whether to make the jabs mandatory gets underway.

That figure represents just under 10% of the 3,598 frontline staff at the hospital and was revealed by Dr Jacqueline Andrews, executive medical director at the Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust.

She said the trust was urging all remaining staff to get doubled jabbed and that managers were speaking with those workers about their concerns.

Dr Andrews said: 

“It is vitally important that we all continue to do everything we can to minimise the risk of covid-19 transmission in hospital and in the community.

“We have encouraged and supported all our staff to be fully vaccinated against covid to keep themselves, their families, fellow colleagues and patients safe and improve our organisational resilience over what is likely to be a challenging winter.”

Government plans are already in place to make it a legal requirement for all care home workers to be fully vaccinated, while implementing the same rules for frontline NHS staff is currently being considered in a consultation.

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Across North Yorkshire, around 430 care home workers are not fully vaccinated and health officials have insisted they are making progress on reducing this number.

The date from which it will become a legal requirement for all care home staff in England to be double jabbed, unless medically exempt, is November 11.

Concern over mandatory vaccines

The move has sparked concerns that making the jabs mandatory could lead to thousands of job losses, which would only worsen the current staffing shortages in both sectors.

And there are now new warnings that employers could face legal action if they sack staff because they have not been fully vaccinated.

Ben Kirkham, regional organiser for the GMB union, said mandatory vaccines could open the door to claims of unfair dismissal if employers sacked staff without offering them redeployment into roles where vaccines were not required.

He said: 

“GMB is opposed to a mandatory requirement for NHS staff – or any other employees – to be vaccinated.

“If the government takes this course and an employer thinks that this gives them the green light to dismiss our members then they need to think again.

“Dismissing any employee because they have not been vaccinated still gives rise to the potential for a claim for unfair dismissal. That employer would still be obliged to look for alternative work for the employee to undertake.

“At one stage we were clapping on a Thursday to show our thanks for the work the NHS and social care staff did during the pandemic, now the government hopes we will get behind insisting they be vaccinated so they can continue to be employed – that simply cannot be right.”

‘We must protect patients’

The consultation on mandatory vaccines for NHS staff is seeking views on the proposals and any impact on staffing and safety such as reducing staff sickness absence.

Staff, healthcare providers, patients and their families are all being urged to have their say, with a final decision expected this winter.

Launching the consultation last week, health secretary Sajid Javid said: 

“Many patients being treated in hospitals and other clinical settings are most at risk of suffering serious consequences of covid-19, and we must do what we can to protect them.

“We will consider the responses to the consultation carefully but, whatever happens, I urge the small minority of NHS staff who have not yet been jabbed to consider getting vaccinated – for their own health as well as those around them.”

Harrogate hospital reports another covid death

Harrogate District Hospital has recorded another covid death, according to NHS England figures.

The death was reported on Friday and takes the amount of people to have lost their lives to a covid-related illness at the hospital since March last year to 186 .

Seven have died in the last three weeks.

Meanwhile, the Harrogate district has reported 72 covid infections according to today’s Pubic Health England figures.

The district’s weekly infection rate now stands at 403 per 100,000 people, while the North Yorkshire rate is 334 and the England average stands at 300.

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The hospital is currently treating 11 patients for covid according to the latest government figures,

Elsewhere, 127,393 people have received a first covid vaccine in the Harrogate district and 118,654 have had a second dose.

Harrogate hospital reports sixth covid death in three weeks

Harrogate District Hospital has recorded another covid death, according to latest NHS England figures.

The death was reported yesterday and is the sixth at the hospital in three weeks.

It takes the death toll at the hospital since March last year to 185.

Meanwhile, another 126 covid infections have been reported in the Harrogate district, according to today’s Public Health England figures.

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The district’s weekly infection rate has now risen to 433 per 100,000 people, while the North Yorkshire rate is 378 and the England average stands at 351.

According to latest weekly figures, Harrogate hospital is treating 11 patients for covid — the same number as a week ago.

Elsewhere, 127,221 people have received a first covid vaccine in the Harrogate district and 117,318 have had a second dose.

Harrogate hospital bosses warn winter will be ‘more challenging than ever before’

Harrogate hospital bosses have warned this winter will be “more challenging than ever before” as staff continue to battle with covid backlogs and brace themselves for peak pressures.

Although covid patient numbers and deaths are much lower than this time last year, the hospital is now battling to clear a backlog of routine screenings, operations and other appointments delayed by the pandemic.

It is also preparing for a surge of seasonal illnesses.

Dr Matt Shepherd, deputy chief operating officer at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, said: 

“Winter is always a challenging time and this year it will be more challenging than ever before as we continue to be affected by the pandemic.

“Whilst there are concerns about other respiratory virus infections occurring in high numbers, campaigns like the one for flu vaccinations are designed to protect the most vulnerable.

“The pandemic has also effected waiting lists, and waiting times have grown as it was not possible to sustain planned admissions for operations, outpatients and tests.

“It is now a major priority to return these services to pre-pandemic levels.”

Winter flu resurgence

Last year saw hardly any winter flu, while other respiratory viruses were only circulating at very low levels.

This was put down to lockdowns and social distancing, meaning the normal winter viruses did not get the chance to spread.

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But Public Health England has now warned that immunity to these viruses will have diminished, and very young children will not have been able to develop any at all.

This expected resurgence of winter flu, combined with the risk of increased covid hospitalisations in the colder months, means hospitals locally and nationally are now making preparations for peak pressures from October when seasonal illnesses usually escalate.

At Harrogate hospital, covid patient numbers have remained steady over recent weeks but have climbed into double figures with 11 people needing treatment as of yesterday.

Five recent covid deaths

The hospital has also reported five covid deaths in the last three weeks after going more than four months without any fatalities.

Dr Shepherd said this has shown the risks of covid remain “very real” – even with the success of the vaccination programme.

He also said the virus was still having a knock-on effect on routine health services and causing delays for patients.

He said: 

“Whilst the latest covid admissions are significantly lower than the waves we experienced in the past, this virus has not gone away, it is still affecting how we operate, and we must be prepared if there is an increase in infections.

“We have been able to manage patients with covid by looking after them in dedicated areas, which prevents further transmission of the virus and keeps other patients and our colleagues safe.

“Whilst we do our utmost to see patients as soon as possible, these measures have on occasion led to longer waiting times in the emergency department than we would have seen before the pandemic.

“We know this is not ideal and we are grateful to our visitors for their patience and understanding.”

Three covid deaths recorded at Harrogate hospital

Three covid deaths have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital.

According to latest NHS England figures, two deaths were reported on September 1 and another on September 2.

It takes the death toll since March 2020 from patients who tested positive for coronavirus to 184.

Meanwhile, the Harrogate district has reported 100 covid infections, according to today’s Pubic Health England figures.

It’s the highest daily figure recorded in the district since July 19.

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The district’s weekly infection rate now stands at 341 per 100,000 people, which is above the North Yorkshire rate of 308 and the England average of 301.

According to the latest figures, Harrogate District Hospital is treating 11 patients for covid.

Elsewhere, 126,939 people have received a first covid vaccine in the Harrogate district and 115,524 have had a second dose.

Another 88 covid cases in Harrogate district as hospitalisations rise

A further 88 covid cases have been confirmed in the Harrogate district, according to latest Public Health England figures – and the number of hospital patients has increased.

The district’s seven-day covid rate now stands at 322 cases per 100,000 people, slightly above the North Yorkshire average of 308 and the England rate of 301.

It also emerged today that the number of covid patients at Harrogate District Hospital has risen despite the overall number of people needing treatment across the county falling.

As of yesterday, there were 126 covid-positive patients in North Yorkshire’s hospitals, which is down five on this time last week.

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There are 20 patients in intensive care, an increase of one in the last seven days.

In an update to North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum today, Amanda Bloor, the accountable officer for the North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group, said that the number of patients at Harrogate District Hospital was up one to 11.

She said: 

“While there has been an overall reduction across our hospitals there has been a slight increase of covid-positive patients in Harrogate and a larger increase in Scarborough.

“This is an important reminder that some people are still becoming unwell and needing hospital treatment. Due to infection control requirements when treating covid patients it does mean that hospitals are able to do less other activity while the numbers remain significant.

“As schools and colleges go back in September this may also have an impact on infection rates so it is important that we all continue to take sensible precautions to protect ourselves and those around us.”

Elsewhere, 124,187 people have received a first covid vaccine in the Harrogate district and 114,258 have had a second dose.