Number of Covid patients at Chesterfield Royal continuing to fall

Nevertheless, there are currently still more Covid inpatients at the hospital than during the first wave of coronavirus.

There are currently 144 Covid-19 patients at Chesterfield, down from 167 last week and a peak of nearly 200 towards the end of January.

It had peaked at 75 Covid patients during the first wave, around half the current level.

Chesterfield Royal staff are treating 12 Covid patients in intensive care, down from 14 last week, peaking at 17 in the first wave.

Across Derbyshire, the number of Covid-19 patients in the county’s hospitals has fallen from more than 700 to 522 in just two weeks.

Royal Derby Hospital is currently treating 258 Covid patients, down from 328 last week and a peak of 388 in mid-January, while Queen’s Hospital in Burton is currently treating 120 Covid patients, down from 151 last week, after peaking at 100 during the first wave.

Gavin Boyle, chief executive at the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust (UHDB), described this reduction as ‘light at the end of the tunnel’.

He said: “Exhausted staff at all of our hospitals are still treating many more Covid patients than they saw during the first wave between spring and autumn last year.

“Once the number of Covid inpatients reduces, our health services will then have to get to grips with the thousands of patients who have been unable to undergo surgery and treatment due to the resources being used to fight the pandemic.