More than 100 coronavirus patients at Herefordshire hospitals

A record number of Covid-19 patients were at the Wye Valley NHS Trust at 8am on January 19, when 117 patients were being treated.

Tuesday is the most recent day covered by the weekly NHS England figures, which are released on a Thursday, and shows the number of patients with coronavirus being treated at the hospitals had risen from 85 the same day last week.

The number of coronavirus patients on Tuesday is the highest ever at the Wye Valley NHS Trust.

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During the first wave of coronavirus, the highest number of patients with Covid-19 at the trust was 50 on April 5. The latest toll, 117, is 134 per cent higher than that.

The number of people on mechanical ventilators, used for the most seriously ill coronavirus patients, had also risen over the seven-day period.

On Tuesday, six patients were on mechanical ventilators, up from four on January 12.

In the seven-days to January 17, 65 Covid-19 patients were admitted and diagnosed with coronavirus at the Wye Valley NHS Trust. This compares to 49 the previous week.

Separate figures from NHS England, which cover up to 4pm on Wednesday (January 21) show 141 people have now died at the Wye Valley Trust after a positive Covid-19 test result.

On Tuesday, the trust's director of nursing Lucy Flanagan said in a video message to staff the number of coronavirus patients had risen above 100.

She confirmed there had been a number of outbreaks of Covid-19 on wards, including at community hospitals, and thanked staff for their continued hard work.

"As I sit here today, we have over 100 Covid-19 positive patients in our hospitals beds," she said on Tuesday.

"We have a number of outbreaks across our wards and across our community hospitals, we have many of our colleagues off sick, self-isolating or shielding.

"I know how much pressure these things put us under. I know many of you are tired, I know many of you are stressed.

"I know many of you are scared, and I know that some of you are saying this is having a huge impact on your mental health and well-being, and even your sleep."