A Gateshead health boss is urging residents to do their bit to protect the NHS as coronavirus cases rise.
Alice Wiseman, director of Public Health, has warned that local health services are at risk of buckling under extreme pressure this winter.
Increased demand for hospital beds has been well publicised throughout the pandemic and as Covid-19 cases rise alongside the return of the usual seasonal illnesses like flu, GP practices, emergency departments and urgent treatment centres are seeing record numbers of patients.
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The North East Ambulance Service is also facing extremely high numbers of calls to its 999 and 111 services.
Figures published by Gateshead Council show that, in the seven day period ending October 31, 1,075 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed. This equates to 531 cases per 100,000 people.
This matches the week prior to that, however it is higher than earlier in October.
The data shows that in the seven days ending October 17, there was 1,021 confirmed cases of the virus, or 505 per 100,000 people.
In the week prior to that there was 803 confirmed cases, or 397 per 100,000 people.
And, in the seven days up to October 3 there was 671 new cases or 332 per 100,000 people.
Ms Wiseman said that the number of inpatients at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital with coronavirus had increased by 20%.
She said: “As you’d expect at this time of year, we’re seeing an increase in people testing positive for Covid-19. Thanks to the vaccine programme, most of those people are now at lower risk of getting seriously ill than they were this time last year – but the higher the overall case rate, the higher the number of people who will need medical care.
"We recently saw the number of inpatients with Covid at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital increase by around 20% within a week. We are also seeing a resurgence of other viruses which are also causing severe illness and more pressure on the NHS.”
The other major difference between this winter and last is that there are now fewer restrictions in place to help limit the spread of viruses.
She continued: “I’d urge everyone to remember that we don’t need to wait for government mandates to act responsibly. We can all take some simple steps now to make it less likely that more disruptive measures will be needed – like getting vaccinated, which is the single most effective thing you can do to protect yourself and others. Working from home if you can, wearing face coverings, washing your hands more often and letting in fresh air can also make a big difference.
“Simple precautions like these will limit transmission of flu and other winter viruses as well as Covid-19, helping to keep you, your family and businesses safe. In turn, this will ease the strain on NHS services not just by reducing demand, but also by lowering staff absence levels.”
Gateshead residents are also being reminded to choose the most appropriate service for their circumstances if they feel unwell – and to be patient while waiting and treat staff with respect.
To help medical staff prioritise patients with the most urgent needs, residents should first seek advice from a local pharmacy or 111.nhs.uk, and only call 999 or attend A&E in an emergency. You can also use the NHS app to book appointments, ask for medication or get medical advice, or use the eConsult option on your practice's website to get a response the next day. This will help make sure everyone gets the care they need. If you do need to go to an NHS site, you will need to wear your own face covering.
Anyone with suspected Covid-19 symptoms should arrange a PCR test through gov.uk or by calling 119, even if they’ve recently had a negative result from a lateral flow device.
Dr Mark Dornan, a local GP and Chair of NHS Newcastle Gateshead Clinical Commissioning Group, added: "Winter is always a tough time for us, but this year our health and care services were under huge pressure already. We need you to help us by getting vaccinated, wearing a mask and using services differently.
"GP practices are all open but might need to speak to you by phone to decide how best to meet your needs. A&E and emergency services are extremely busy, so please only use them in a real emergency.
"Everyone in the whole system is working so hard to care for patients, and we appreciate your support and understanding."
