University Hospital Wishaw is running at full capacity as NHS Lanarkshire deals with more coronavirus patients than at any point in the past year.
As of 8am on Monday, 288 patients were being treated in the health board area’s hospitals for Covid – including 103 in Wishaw.
Of those, 16 were in ICU, including five in Wishaw.
All 420 beds in the hospital were occupied with no space to admit new patients.
Following a spike in Covid cases in December, University Hospital Wishaw stepped up cleaning measures and closed wards to new patients.
Across NHS Lanarkshire, hospitals were running at 96 per cent capacity with just 46 free beds for new patients.
Judith Park, NHS Lanarkshire’s director of acute services, said: “To protect our loved ones, our staff and our hospitals, it is vitally important that everyone takes personal responsibility and follows the latest Scottish Government guidance, taking into account the consequences of their actions on their families, community, local business and people’s livelihoods.
“We are currently dealing with a high number of Covid-19 patients across our hospitals which continues to cause severe pressure on our resources.
“A number of wards are currently closed to new admissions and transfers and strict control measures are in place to reduce the risk of infection. The safety of our patients and staff is of paramount importance.
“We would like to remind the public that it is vitally important we all follow Scottish Government guidance.
“We also want to remind people to stop and think before they go to A&E.
“There are lots of other qualified experts in our community who can safely advise
people more quickly on many health conditions.
“It is extremely important that we help people access the right help, at the right time and we keep A&E free for emergencies.”
