Almost half of a hospital’s entire A&E staff have tested positive for coronavirus, according to a consultant.
Dr Tim Rogerson said about 50 per cent of consultants and nurses at Royal Gwent Hospital’s accident and emergency department in Newport have contracted Covid-19.
The doctor revealed the statistics in a video shared by Aneurin Bevan University Health Board as he said he too has tested positive for the virus.
The health board area, which includes Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport and Torfaen, has 1,453 cases of Covid-19 – the highest number in Wales and one of the worst in the UK.
Dr Rogerson said he had been off work after experiencing “mild to moderate” coronavirus symptoms and that his son has also tested positive for the virus.
“This has obviously happened despite all of the PPE we’ve got and all the hand washing that we’re doing but it’s probably just a likely thing that’s going to happen when we’re faced with such numbers of patients coming in with coronavirus,” he said.
“We’re probably up to around 50 per cent of the consultant workforce at the Gwent in A&E who have swabbed positive for the coronavirus and a similar percent in our nursing team.
“It’s probably inevitable and it is proving a challenge when it’s coming to staffing the department when we are facing these numbers coming through.”
He added: “All staff on the various frontlines are putting themselves into harm’s way when we’re dealing with patients who have coronavirus symptoms.”
Dr Rogerson urged members of the public to stay indoors over the Easter weekend as breaching social distancing guidelines would hit the hospital’s intensive care unit capacity in “two weeks’ time”.
“Although it’s difficult, we really do want people to abide by the guidance, to stay at home and protect the NHS,” he said.
Additional reporting by Press Association.
