Coronavirus: Nottingham hospitals Covid surge 'as bad as April'

A hospital trust has warned a surge in Covid-19 admissions is "similar to April", and has postponed some non-urgent operations as a result.

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust says more than 200 patients have tested positive for coronavirus - 16 are in a critical condition.

The "dramatic increase" in patients comes as Nottingham could be going into tier three lockdown.

The trust said "a full ward of people" with Covid were being admitted daily.

According to the latest NHS England data, an average of 14 people a day were admitted to the Queen's Medical Centre and City Hospital with Covid-19 in the week up to 20 October.

An average of seven people were on mechanical ventilation a day.

Chief executive Tracy Taylor said as a result of the increased Covid and "normal winter emergency pressures" meant some non-urgent surgeries would need to be postponed until at least 6 November.

She said: "This is not a decision we have taken lightly but we need to ensure we have the beds and staff available to care for those in urgent need during this surge of Covid-19.

"This is a challenging situation but we are working with our colleagues across Nottinghamshire's Integrated Care System to do the best for our patients."

Officials in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire are in discussions about whether the areas will move into tier three restrictions.

On Thursday afternoon, a meeting between local leaders and a government minister concluded without a definite decision being made.

More talks are expected to be held later.

It follows news Nottingham's seven-day coronavirus infection rate had fallen again.

The latest figures show the seven-day infection rate in Nottingham is 561.4 per 100,000 people, the fifth highest in England. Despite the high numbers, the infection rate has gone down from 604.5.

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