Chesterfield Royal Hospital staff working ‘round the clock’ to care for coronavirus patients

The hospital has not publicly revealed how many patients with coronavirus it is treating – but Public Health England said the number of people with confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Derbyshire as a whole is currently 105.

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A spokesperson for Chesterfield Royal Hospital told the Derbyshire Times this morning: “We are continuing to care for patients with confirmed cases of Covid-19 and as part of our well-prepared escalation plan we are looking after them in specifically designated areas of the hospital - in line with best practice infection control procedures.

“The virus is more serious for those with existing health conditions, so recovery can take longer.

“Our staff are working round the clock to provide safe, high-quality care until patients are well enough to return home, or back to a general ward.

“We are incredibly grateful to the staff looking after these patients with such dignity and respect – at what is an anxious time for them and their families.”

The Royal is also urging people not to come to the hospital if they have symptoms of coronavirus.

“We’ve had several instances where we’ve had to close areas for deep cleaning because visitors and patients arrived and then declared they’d got a high temperature and a new cough,” the spokesperson said.

They added that the hospital is moving outpatient appointments to telephone conversations.

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