Hospitals in Leeds cancelled the majority of elective operations on Tuesday, it emerged today as winter pressures begin to bite early.
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said it was forced to take action after becoming ‘extremely busy’ with Covid and A&E patients.
Most ‘priority two’ operations — ones which need to be completed within 28 days — were postponed at the trust’s five main hospitals.
Figures show the trust had 125 Covid-infected inpatients, the equivalent of five full wards, on Tuesday — about a third of the levels seen at the peak of the second wave.
And it saw a 20 per increase in patients attending A&E compared to the same month in 2019.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said earlier this week that A&Es were being inundated with patients struggling to get an appointment with a GP.
The trust urged the public to ‘think carefully’ before showing up at A&E, with two of its hospitals seeing ‘record numbers of patients’ with non-life threatening symptoms.
It declined to give details about how many operations it had cancelled. Officials insisted that there are no priority one surgeries that must be performed within 72 hours. — such as some urology and ENT operations— had been postponed.
A family member of a patient who had his operation cancelled said that the delays could have serious consequences.Al‘ Because patients may not be well enough to undergo surgery when their procedure is rescheduled.
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust stated that it had to cancel most elective operations on Tuesday. Pictured: Leeds General Infirmary
The trust said the emergency departments at two of its hospitals — Leeds General Infirmary and St James’s Hospital (pictured) — were ‘extremely busy’ and seeing a ‘record number of patients’
Figures from Department of Health show that 14 Covid-infected patients were admitted to Leeds Hospitals in the seven days prior to October 21. These figures are the most recent available.
MailOnline was told by Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust that 112 Covid positive patients were in its hospitals today, while 21 are in intensive care. Comparatively, 331 Covid-infected patients were admitted to hospital in a single day during the second wave. 31 of these were on mechanical ventilation beds. The Department of Health data shows that the number of Covid-infected patients in Leeds hospitals is on the rise (pictured).
It also was forced to postpone some day case surgeries — operations where people are discharged on the same day — because part of the hospital had to be repurposed for emergency care.
The disruption continued into Wednesday but most operations were able continue at that point.
The trust serves Leeds and the surrounding areas with 5.4 million people.
It will be two weeks later Senior NHS officials called for Plan B to be implemented — face masks, work from home guidance and vaccine passports — to avoid the health service from being overwhelmed.
Javid previously stated that he doesn’t believe the current pressures on health care are ‘unsustainable’.
There were approximately 1,000 Covid-infected patients admitted to UK hospitals on any given day of the week from October 30 to November 2, while 9 517 were admitted to hospital on November 2, according to the most recent figures.
MailOnline was informed by Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust that 112 Covid-positive patients were currently in its hospitals, and 21 are in intensive.
Comparatively, 331 Covid-infected individuals were admitted to hospital in a single day during the peak of the second wave. 31 were placed on mechanical ventilation beds.
But the trust said on Tuesday the emergency departments at two of its hospitals — Leeds General Infirmary and St James’s Hospital — were ‘extremely busy’ and seeing a ‘record number of patients’.
A family member of someone who was impacted by the operation cancellations told the Health Service Journal (HSJ): ‘My relative is on the cardiology list and might not be fit enough for the op if there are further delays — that could be fatal.’
Mark Liddington is the trust’s medical director of operations. He said that in response to an unprecedented situation on Tuesday morning we reviewed all elective activities and made the difficult choice to cancel P2 [priority two]Unless otherwise deemed medically urgent, elective procedures will not be performed. All P1 activity was continued.
He said that hospitals were also forced into using a day case area for emergency patients. This meant that day case procedures had been cancelled unless they were urgently needed.
Mr Liddington said the situation had ‘eased a little’ by Wednesday and the Trust was prioritising the most urgent patients and going ahead with surgery where possible.
He said, “We understand the distress and concern this causes our patients and will be liaising to them about rescheduling.
Dr Sarah Davey, the trust’s clinical director for urgent care, stated Tuesday that the trust urges the public to remember that emergency rooms are for life or limb emergencies such as severe chest pain, difficulty breathing or significant head injuries.
She stated that patients will have to wait longer if they present with less urgent problems.
In response to pandemic pressures, hospitals across England have cancelled non-urgent procedures in recent months.
After health bosses instructed hospitals to reduce social distancing requirements within wards, they are no longer required to work at reduced capacities.
Yesterday, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, England’s deputy chief physician officer, warned that there were upcoming ‘hard months’ and that the country’s infection rate was “running hot” as it heads into what is expected be a difficult winter for the NHS.
He said that hospital admissions have slowed down in the last four days while there has been a slight decline in the number of patients being treated with Covid on wards.
‘What that tells me is that we have to just wait and see a bit longer — this could be a pause before things go up, it could be the very first signs that things are beginning to stabilise but at a high rate,’ Professor Van-Tam said.
It comes as the UK became the first country to approve the Covid pill that can now be taken at-home to lower the risk of people who have been affected by the virus.
Clinical trials have shown that antiviral molnupiravir can reduce hospitalization rates by half in elderly and vulnerable patients.
Merck’s tablet — which will be sold under the brand name Lagevrio — will be given twice a day to people at-risk from Covid, such as those who have diabetes or are obese, within a week of testing positive.
It is expected that it will be available on the NHS within weeks. This will provide the country with an additional layer of defense heading into winter.