Chesterfield Royal Hospital seeing ‘high numbers’ of patients – as A&Es across UK ‘overwhelmed’ by children with mild illnesses

On Friday, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) said emergency departments across the UK were seeing record numbers of young children – but most have a mild fever which could be treated at home.

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This is not a particular issue at the Royal yet – but at around 1pm on Friday, the hospital’s website said it was ‘busy’ with 41 patients waiting for emergency or urgent care.

A trust spokesperson told the Derbyshire Times: “We continue to see high numbers of patients and would urge people to think about what service they might need to treat their health needs.

“As a parent of a young child it is completely understandable to be concerned if they are poorly – however, many common illnesses and symptoms can be treated very easily either at home, by calling your GP or going to your local pharmacy.

“Our emergency department will always prioritise the most serious cases, such as difficulty breathing, loss of consciousness, chest pains and serious injury.

“If your, or your child’s, symptoms are not serious but you need advice and don’t have access to a GP or pharmacy, dial NHS111 first.

“A health expert will give you advice, direct you to the nearest and most appropriate service and in some cases even make an appointment for you.

“By knowing the most appropriate place to seek treatment and advice for your health concerns, you will be seen by the right people in the right place more quickly, resulting in a much more efficient health service.”

In a tweet on Friday, Chesterfield MP Toby Perkins said he had spoken to Angie Smithson, the Royal’s chief executive.

“Covid hospitalisation back to zero,” he tweeted.

“Strong evidence that doubly vaccinated people are not ending up in hospital.”

Dr Camilla Kingdon, president of the RCPCH, said many emergency departments in the UK were ‘overwhelmed’ by youngsters with mild viruses.

In most cases, their fevers, coughs and runny noses are not caused by Covid-19 but other respiratory infections like the common cold.

She said fevers were very common in young children and usually aren’t serious.

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