London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 01, 2025

Rise in UK Covid admissions leading to hospital illness, absence and delays

Rise in UK Covid admissions leading to hospital illness, absence and delays

Hospitals in southern England worst affected, with Devon recording highest ever numbers of Covid patients
Rising numbers of people entering hospital with Covid are leading to other patients becoming infected, staff absences, delayed operations and long waits in emergency departments, experts have said.

In recent weeks, Covid infection levels have been rising in the UK and hospitalisations are also increasing.

The number of people in hospital with Covid in Devon has doubled in a fortnight and is higher than at any other point in the pandemic, according to the NHS Devon clinical commissioning group (CCG).

“The last time Covid-19 numbers were this high was in January 2021, before most people had the benefit of Covid-19 vaccines,” it said in a statement.

While far fewer Covid patients were in intensive care, the rise in patients with Covid was having a significant impact, it said.

“Many people have tested positive for Covid-19 while in hospital for other conditions, and this has led to patients who are already vulnerable becoming more unwell and also impacted on the ability to admit other patients.”

According to data for England, the number of people in hospital with Covid increased from 8,210 on 3 March to 11,346 on Thursday.

Meanwhile, data released by the UK Health Security Agency on Thursday revealed that the overall weekly hospital admission rate in England for Covid in the week ending 13 March was 13.38 per 100,000 compared with 11.67 per 100,000 the previous week.

The highest rates were in the south-east and south-west, at 19.31 and 19.30 per 100,000 respectively, with the West Midlands the only region in England to show a decline. The highest admission rate was among those aged 85 and older.

While rising infection levels in the community mean the number of people in hospital who have an “incidental” Covid infection is likely to be rising, the number of those who are being treated primarily for Covid rose from 3,445 on 3 March to 4,475 on 15 March, according to NHS England.

In addition, analysts have suggested hospital-acquired Covid infections are rising.

Ian Currie, the medical director of Torbay and South Devon NHS foundation trust, said: “While it is encouraging that the majority of our patients who have tested positive for Covid-19 are in hospital for other conditions and are asymptomatic or experiencing mild symptoms, the impact that the presence of Covid-19 has in our hospitals is really significant.

“Under current infection prevention and control guidelines, one patient testing positive for Covid-19 can result in the closure of the whole ward, meaning that beds are unavailable for emergency admissions and for planned operations. This means people waiting longer for treatment in the community and operations being cancelled or postponed and long waits in emergency departments for people needing a hospital bed.”

Dr David Strain, a senior clinical lecturer at the University of Exeter medical school, told the Guardian the situation was continuing to deteriorate.

“What we are seeing here is what we’re expecting the rest of the country to be seeing over the next week to 10 days,” said Strain, adding that the pressure on hospital beds had coincided with the rise of the BA.2 subvariant of Omicron.

Strain said a key difficulty was in maintaining the option for people to visit patients in hospital.

“For now, our solution is we are giving them all the face masks and asking them to do their lateral flow test before they come to visit,” he said. “But of course, when lateral flow tests cease to be free in 10 days’ time, that’s going to be a big issue.”

Last week the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS trust announced it would be suspending visiting immediately because of a rise in the number of patients with Covid.
Comments

Medic 3 year ago
Quite obviously doctors and nurses are stretched to full capacity seeing as the army medic is playing his keyboard for them to just dance in the ward, just over his shoulder are the empty beds clearly not rammed with covid cases. Ignoring the social distancing rules to dance cheek to cheek is the best indicator their morale has never been higher.
Perhaps this image should be investigated and the hospital trust congratulated for exposing the truth.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
Trump Administration Considers Withdrawal of Funding for Hospitals Providing Gender Treatment to Minors
Texas Enacts Law Allowing Gold and Silver Transactions
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
OpenAI Secures Multimillion-Dollar AI Contracts with Pentagon, India, and Grab
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Germany Votes to Suspend Family Reunification for Asylum Seekers
Elon Musk Critiques Senate Budget Proposal Over Job Losses and Strategic Risks
Los Angeles Riots ended with Federal Investigations into Funding
Budapest Pride Parade Draws 200,000 Participants Amid Government Ban
Southern Europe Experiences Extreme Heat
Xiaomi's YU7 SUV Launch Garners Record Pre-Orders Amid Market Challenges
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's Lavish Wedding in Venice
Russia Launches Largest Air Assault on Ukraine Since Invasion
Education Secretary Announces Overhaul of Complaints System Amid Rising Parental Grievances
Massive Anti-Government Protests Erupt in Belgrade
Trump Ends Trade Talks with Canada Over Digital Services Tax
UK Government Softens Welfare Reform Plans Amid Labour Party Rebellion
Labour Faces Rebellion Over Disability Benefit Reforms Ahead of Key Vote
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Host Lavish Wedding in Venice Amid Protests
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
North Korea to Open New Beach Resort to Boost Tourism Economy
UK Labour Party Faces Internal Tensions Over Welfare Reforms
Andrew Cuomo Hints at Potential November Comeback Amid Democratic Primary Results
Curtis Sliwa Champions His Vision for New York City Amid Rising Crime Concerns
Federal Reserve Proposes Changes to Capital Rule Affecting Major Banks
EU TO HUNGARY: LET THEM PRIDE OR PREP FOR SHADE. ORBÁN TO EU: STAY IN YOUR LANE AND FIX YOUR OWN MESS.
Trump Escalates Criticism of Media Over Iran Strike Coverage
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
Big Four Accounting Firms Fined in Exam Cheating Scandal
NATO Members Agree to 5% Defense Spending Target by 2035
Australia's Star Casino Secures $195 Million Rescue Package Amid Challenges
UK to Enhance Nuclear Capabilities with Acquisition of F-35A Fighter Jets
Russian Shadow Payments via Cryptocurrency Reach $9 Billion
Explosions Rock Doha as Iranian Missiles Target Qatar
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Airlines Evaluate Flight Cancellations Amid Escalating US-Iran Tensions
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
×