Latest on Covid at Chesterfield Royal Hospital

According to the hospital’s latest update to the Derbyshire Times at around 1pm on Thursday, staff were looking after 80 patients with Covid.

MORE: Chesterfield areas with highest Covid infections in the past week

A spokesperson for the Royal said numbers in intensive care were ‘low’.

As reported earlier this week, coronavirus was the reason behind three in five NHS staff absences at Chesterfield Royal Hospital as the new year began.

Berenice Groves, the hospital’s deputy chief executive and chief operating officer, said: “We’re extremely busy at the moment – there’s an awful lot of demand coming through our accident and emergency department.

“Our beds are full with lots of poorly patients.

“We’ve got a lot of staff absences – the new variant is causing a real impact.”

She also praised staff for their hard work and said ‘we’re so impressed by everyone – they’re outstanding’.

“We are doing everything we can to keep our services running, including colleagues taking on extra shifts and offering to be redeployed to areas of the hospital which need them, and we have taken the decision to cancel elective surgery for a short period,” she said.

“We are grateful for the support of the local community and continue to ask them to help us by doing the right things: please have your vaccines, wear a mask when in public areas – and wash your hands.

“As we are also running close to capacity we are encouraging patients to go home as soon as they are clinically signed off and we are reaching out to families to support us by assisting with care in their relative’s home or supporting placements in residential or nursing care facilities.”

Latest Government statistics show 1,779 people in Chesterfield had a confirmed positive test result for coronavirus between January 7 and January 13 – a decrease of 32.2 per cent compared to the previous seven days.

In North East Derbyshire, 1,481 people had a confirmed positive test result from January 7 to January 13 – a week-on-week drop of 32.8 per cent.

In Bolsover, 1,372 people had a confirmed positive test result between January 7 and January 13 – a fall of 16.6 per cent compared to the last seven days.

The total number of deaths registered across Derbyshire county and Derby city where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate currently stands at 3,335. This time last month, that figure was 3,259.

Meanwhile, a mobile Covid vaccination clinic is operating at The Hub, next to Eden Mobility in Low Pavement, Chesterfield, between 10am and 3pm on Friday.

An NHS spokesperson said: “It’s in an effort to reach those who either keep meaning to get their life-saving first, second or booster dose but haven't got round to it – or those who still have some questions about the vaccine which they would like to talk through.

“The mobile unit will be able to offer first doses to anyone over the age of 16, second doses to anyone over the age of 16 who has waited at least eight weeks since their first dose and the booster vaccination to anyone over the age of 18 where it has been three months (91 days) since they received their second dose.

“There are no appointments needed, people can just walk-in.”

MORE: ‘Help us learn to live with virus’: Mobile Covid vaccination clinic rolls into Chesterfield

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