Chesterfield Royal Hospital issues update after nearby South Yorkshire moved to Tier 3 lockdown

The hospital wanted to update residents on how many coronavirus patients it is caring for after it was announced that South Yorkshire would be placed in a ‘very high’ alert level this weekend.

A post on the hospital’s Facebook page reads: “You may have just seen on the news that neighbouring South Yorkshire is moving into Covid-19 Tier 3 Alert from Saturday.

"That’s classed as ‘very high risk’ and is in response to increasing cases of coronavirus across Sheffield, Barnsley, Rotherham and Doncaster which earlier this week included over 100 patients in Doncaster Royal Infirmary alone.

“This morning at Chesterfield Royal we are caring for 28 patients confirmed as COVID-19 positive by swab or other clinical indicator (such as a chest x-ray).

"Ten of these patients require the highest level of intensive care.

"We have 15 intensive care beds available, with the ability to increase up to 21 - so we remain prepared and are adapting our environment and services to respond to pressures and demands.”

Hospital bosses added it was still ‘business as usual’ for other critical medical needs as well.

“Right now we are looking after another 400+ patients in our hospital for a variety of reasons,” the post goes on.

"We are also enabling urgent surgery to take place - as well as more routine operations when capacity allows.

"It’s a challenging time with Covid, ‘normal’ demands and restoring services a difficult balance that we work through not just every day but every hour.”

In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Nancy Fielder, editor.