Harrogate hospital under “significant pressure” due to high demand for beds and levels of Covid-19 and flu patients

On Wednesday (January 4), the hospital had 292 occupied beds with just one unoccupied as the crisis across the NHS deepens this winter.

Several hospitals have declared ‘critical incidents’ over the last two weeks, which means they cannot function as usual due to extraordinary pressure.

Harrogate & District NHS Trust has not declared one but a spokesman urged people to only attend the hospital’s emergency department if it’s a life-threatening or severe illness or injury.

He said: “Over bank holidays, our emergency department is usually busier than normal, and this has been the case over the period since Christmas”.

Covid-19 and Flu

The hospital has been impacted by high numbers of patients with either Covid-19 or flu and who often require a longer stay before they can return to their home.

As of January 4, the hospital had 22 patients with Covid and 34 patients with flu.

From September 1 to January 3, 59 patients who were admitted with Covid, or were diagnosed with Covid during admission, died in hospital.

The Trust spokesman stressed that this does not mean these patients died from Covid, only that they were carrying the virus when they died.

Wait for beds

There are currently 50 patients waiting to have care or a placement allocated so they can leave the hospital, which means the hospital is “almost completely full on a daily basis” and there are fewer available beds in the emergency department.

Visitors to the department are also experiencing longer waiting times as healthcare staff prioritise patients with serious and life-threatening conditions.

The spokesman asked families of patients to help bring them home “as soon as their medical condition allows” in order to help free up beds.

They added: “We know that supporting a family member at home can be challenging, but there really is no place like home for so many of our patients.

"When patients are starting to improve and no longer require hospital care, the remainder of their recovery happens much quicker in their own homes.

“If a patient is a care home resident, they will most likely return to their care home.

"On rare occasions, they may need to be discharged to a different care home for a short period, and we ask that families please support us with this wherever they can.

“Our patients’ health is our utmost priority and our dedicated team will do everything they can to help.”