Trusts to stop routine Covid tests for new patients amid ‘brutal’ NHS pressures

Overstretched hospitals are stopping routine Covid tests for new patients as “brutal” pressures mount on doctors and nurses, The Independent understands.

On Monday there were 1,702 new Covid admissions to hospitals in England as of 9 April – with 16,442 positive patients occupying beds – the NHS leaders warn their ability to tackle the backlog in planned care is at risk.

Despite pleas from NHS chiefs to measures such as mask-wearing back into force, ministers said there were no plans to change guidance.

The Independent understands at least two major hospitals, in Newcastle and York, have dropped testing of all patients without symptoms in order to alleviate pressure on beds – raising fears that Covid could spread on unchecked wards. Other hospitals are also likely to do the same as bed pressures worsen.

Sources have told The Independent some trusts have begun to drop “red” Covid only wards, while some are considering not separating patients in A&E.

One expert, critical care doctor Tom Lawton, who analyses hospital-acquired infection data, said that stopping patient testing in hospitals was “worrying” and that the NHS would be putting “blinkers on” just as in-hospital infections were “as high as they’ve ever been”.

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Source: The Independent, 11 April 2022