Hospital warns it may become ‘impossible’ to stop patients catching covid

A trust has warned it may reach a ‘tipping point’ where it is ‘impossible’ to separate covid positive and negative patients.

Surrey and Sussex Healthcare Trust also revealed in papers published ahead of its Thursday board meeting that it planned to distribute a “duty of candour” leaflet for patients, warning them of the risk of contracting covid in hospital.

The papers noted covid patients at the trust increased from 80 pre-Christmas to 230 by January, filling half its beds. HSJ’s figures suggest covid patients at the trust continued to rise until around 14 January before dropping back slightly. 

The report from the trust’s safety and quality committee — which met on 7 January — said: “It is becoming more difficult to separate the covid+ and covid- patients. In an increasing number of instances, patients are admitted to cold areas for non-covid treatment and without symptoms but then test positive. These patients then need to be admitted to hot areas and any contacts (including patients from the same bay) isolated.

“At some point a tipping point could be reached where it may be impossible to retain hot and cold areas.”

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Source: HSJ, 27 January 2021