Trusts To Stop Routine Covid Tests For New Patients Amid Brutal Nhs Pressures

On Monday, there were 1,702 new Covid hospitalizations in England – with 16,442 positive patients taking up beds – NHS leaders warn that their ability to cope with delays in scheduled care is at stake. Despite calls from NHS leaders to reintroduce measures such as the use of masks, ministers said there were no plans to change leadership. The Independent understands that at least two major hospitals, in Newcastle and York, have stopped testing all asymptomatic patients to ease bed pressure – raising fears that Covid could spread to uncontrolled wards. Sources say that other hospitals are likely to do the same as bed pressure worsens. Sources told the Independent that some trusts have begun to reject only the “red” Covid wards, while some are considering not splitting patients into A&E. Emergency pressures on NHS hospitals have steadily deteriorated in recent weeks, with areas reporting crisis due to lack of beds and the “perfect storm” caused by Covid imports combined with staff absences. Healthcare leaders have called on the government to take new measures such as mask use and indoor mixing limits to help protect the NHS from “violent” pressure. One specialist, intensive care physician Tom Lawton, who analyzes hospital-acquired infection data, said the cessation of inpatient testing was “worrying” and that the NHS would put “blinders” just as nosocomial infections were ” as high as these “. I’ve never been. “ However, several hospital leaders have said that not having beds to treat patients is the biggest risk. Glen Burley, head of the NHS in the warnings for nosocomial infections, “was raising more safety issues than benefits.” Last week, The Independent revealed that patients who waited more than 12 hours from arriving at A&E averaged 1,721 a day, while ambulances took four hours to reach patients with stroke and suspected heart attack. The NHS Confederation, which represents hospitals in England, accused the government on Monday of abandoning any interest in Covid and “washing its hands of responsibility”. Asked if there could be a return to the restrictions on Covid, a No. 10 spokesman said there was no change in the current guidance, but that he would monitor the virus’s behavior with a survey by the National Statistics Office. Covid cases have been on the rise in the UK since the restrictions were lifted (PA) Dr Lawton said the decision to stop the tests was “worrying” and that “blindfolds” were not a justified answer to the problem. He explained: “We do not know exactly how dangerous Covid obtained from the hospital is, but people have died with it and we know from studies such as CovidSurg that Covid increases the risk of surgery in patients with blood clots and heart attacks. “If we do not have the resources to properly control infections, we should at least do what we can, such as keeping Covid and non-Covid patients as far away as possible. “Stopping the tests means we can do nothing to reduce the risk.” He stressed that the risks of Covid being acquired by the hospital are “as high as ever”. In the 28 days to April 3, there were 11,936 possible or definite cases in England, representing 23 per cent of hospital cases in total. However, Dr. Chris Green, associate professor of clinical medicine and consultant physician in infectious diseases, warned that “doing this properly will not be easy.” He said a positive test does not determine when someone is infectious and therefore the safest course of action is to isolate all patients who come out positive, but this burdens the hospital’s resources when they are already limited. “We really need patients under the right specialists at the right time, and anything that disrupts the hospital’s effectiveness risks increasing Covid’s indirect burden or impact,” he said. “It will always be a difficult balance: to protect patients from nosocomial infections and at the same time make our resources go as far as possible for the many people who are in desperate need. [treatment]. » Side flow tests are no longer freely available, raising concerns about the UK’s ability to retain the virus (PA) The internal guidelines for infection control in Newcastle hospitals, seen by The Independent, show that the trust no longer tests patients who do not show symptoms on admission. Patients who need to be discharged to a care home will be examined within 48 hours of discharge – prior to these examinations would be required prior to discharge. An NHS source in Newcastle explained: [which] “They started to close large numbers of beds, so it was decided to try only incidental emergencies and elective courses.” “Things are really bad right now. It’s a real challenge for which there are no good evidence-based answers. It seems that this is the right thing to do, but we would not do it if we had endurance either in bed or in the staff. “Random patients with Covid are less contagious, so the logic is that not knowing about them keeps the beds open and the overall risk to everyone is lower. “You can not cure anything if you do not have beds,” they said. Newcastle’s internal staff guidance also says that staff caring for patients on a “standard” route do not need to wear personal protective equipment for aerosol production processes. York hospitals have also taken the same steps and both trusts have stopped Covid testing for patients three, five and seven days after their admission. A senior leader in the Northeast suggested that Yorkshire’s move to stop patient testing was “unsafe” as it had hundreds of Covid patients in bed. According to an analysis by Dr Lawton, the York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust has one of the worst rates of Covid nosocomial infections. The official NHS guidance, released April 5, stated that all symptomatic and asymptomatic patients in need of urgent or unscheduled admission should be offered a PCR examination. This could be a quick PCR test. He added that lateral flow devices could be used in emergency departments as a means of early detection. Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, told The Independent: “NHS trusts across the UK are still under tremendous pressure as the number of people with Covid in hospitals continues to rise. “The NHS still needs appropriate infection control measures to differentiate between Covid and non-Covid patients. [and] to do everything possible to reduce the rates of nosocomial infections. “Reducing infection control procedures can significantly help trusts cope with the growing pressures as they face existing treatment delays beyond the growing demands, but given the ongoing risk of Covid-19 and the need to protect patients, staff and visitors, trusts must strike a careful balance. “ The Yorkshire Teaching Hospitals Trust stated that it has adopted a risk-based approach to guiding the Covid Living Trust, in conjunction with the NHS England Regional Infection Prevention Team and the NHS Improvement. “This is a response to the current critical situation and will be reviewed on a regular basis and de-escalated as required.” A spokesman for the Newcastle upon Tyne Foundation Trust said: “Maintaining the safety of our patients and staff is our number one priority. “Any changes to patient pathways and Covid tests take into account national guidelines and our own extensive internal risk assessments.”

title: “Trusts To Stop Routine Covid Tests For New Patients Amid Brutal Nhs Pressures " ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-03” author: “Helen Powell”

On Monday, there were 1,702 new Covid hospitalizations in England – with 16,442 positive patients taking up beds – NHS leaders warn that their ability to cope with delays in scheduled care is at stake. Despite calls from NHS leaders to reintroduce measures such as the use of masks, ministers said there were no plans to change leadership. The Independent understands that at least two major hospitals, in Newcastle and York, have stopped testing all asymptomatic patients to ease bed pressure – raising fears that Covid could spread to uncontrolled wards. Sources say that other hospitals are likely to do the same as bed pressure worsens. Sources told the Independent that some trusts have begun to reject only the “red” Covid wards, while some are considering not splitting patients into A&E. Emergency pressures on NHS hospitals have steadily deteriorated in recent weeks, with areas reporting crisis due to lack of beds and the “perfect storm” caused by Covid imports combined with staff absences. Healthcare leaders have called on the government to take new measures such as mask use and indoor mixing limits to help protect the NHS from “violent” pressure. One specialist, intensive care physician Tom Lawton, who analyzes hospital-acquired infection data, said the cessation of inpatient testing was “worrying” and that the NHS would put “blinders” just as nosocomial infections were ” as high as these “. I’ve never been. “ However, several hospital leaders have said that not having beds to treat patients is the biggest risk. Glen Burley, head of the NHS in the warnings for nosocomial infections, “was raising more safety issues than benefits.” Last week, The Independent revealed that patients who waited more than 12 hours from arriving at A&E averaged 1,721 a day, while ambulances took four hours to reach patients with stroke and suspected heart attack. The NHS Confederation, which represents hospitals in England, accused the government on Monday of abandoning any interest in Covid and “washing its hands of responsibility”. Asked if there could be a return to the restrictions on Covid, a No. 10 spokesman said there was no change in the current guidance, but that he would monitor the virus’s behavior with a survey by the National Statistics Office. Covid cases have been on the rise in the UK since the restrictions were lifted (PA) Dr Lawton said the decision to stop the tests was “worrying” and that “blindfolds” were not a justified answer to the problem. He explained: “We do not know exactly how dangerous Covid obtained from the hospital is, but people have died with it and we know from studies such as CovidSurg that Covid increases the risk of surgery in patients with blood clots and heart attacks. “If we do not have the resources to properly control infections, we should at least do what we can, such as keeping Covid and non-Covid patients as far away as possible. “Stopping the tests means we can do nothing to reduce the risk.” He stressed that the risks of Covid being acquired by the hospital are “as high as ever”. In the 28 days to April 3, there were 11,936 possible or definite cases in England, representing 23 per cent of hospital cases in total. However, Dr. Chris Green, associate professor of clinical medicine and consultant physician in infectious diseases, warned that “doing this properly will not be easy.” He said a positive test does not determine when someone is infectious and therefore the safest course of action is to isolate all patients who come out positive, but this burdens the hospital’s resources when they are already limited. “We really need patients under the right specialists at the right time, and anything that disrupts the hospital’s effectiveness risks increasing Covid’s indirect burden or impact,” he said. “It will always be a difficult balance: to protect patients from nosocomial infections and at the same time make our resources go as far as possible for the many people who are in desperate need. [treatment]. » Side flow tests are no longer freely available, raising concerns about the UK’s ability to retain the virus (PA) The internal guidelines for infection control in Newcastle hospitals, seen by The Independent, show that the trust no longer tests patients who do not show symptoms on admission. Patients who need to be discharged to a care home will be examined within 48 hours of discharge – prior to these examinations would be required prior to discharge. An NHS source in Newcastle explained: [which] “They started to close large numbers of beds, so it was decided to try only incidental emergencies and elective courses.” “Things are really bad right now. It’s a real challenge for which there are no good evidence-based answers. It seems that this is the right thing to do, but we would not do it if we had endurance either in bed or in the staff. “Random patients with Covid are less contagious, so the logic is that not knowing about them keeps the beds open and the overall risk to everyone is lower. “You can not cure anything if you do not have beds,” they said. Newcastle’s internal staff guidance also says that staff caring for patients on a “standard” route do not need to wear personal protective equipment for aerosol production processes. York hospitals have also taken the same steps and both trusts have stopped Covid testing for patients three, five and seven days after their admission. A senior leader in the Northeast suggested that Yorkshire’s move to stop patient testing was “unsafe” as it had hundreds of Covid patients in bed. According to an analysis by Dr Lawton, the York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust has one of the worst rates of Covid nosocomial infections. The official NHS guidance, released April 5, stated that all symptomatic and asymptomatic patients in need of urgent or unscheduled admission should be offered a PCR examination. This could be a quick PCR test. He added that lateral flow devices could be used in emergency departments as a means of early detection. Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, told The Independent: “NHS trusts across the UK are still under tremendous pressure as the number of people with Covid in hospitals continues to rise. “The NHS still needs appropriate infection control measures to differentiate between Covid and non-Covid patients. [and] to do everything possible to reduce the rates of nosocomial infections. “Reducing infection control procedures can significantly help trusts cope with the growing pressures as they face existing treatment delays beyond the growing demands, but given the ongoing risk of Covid-19 and the need to protect patients, staff and visitors, trusts must strike a careful balance. “ The Yorkshire Teaching Hospitals Trust stated that it has adopted a risk-based approach to guiding the Covid Living Trust, in conjunction with the NHS England Regional Infection Prevention Team and the NHS Improvement. “This is a response to the current critical situation and will be reviewed on a regular basis and de-escalated as required.” A spokesman for the Newcastle upon Tyne Foundation Trust said: “Maintaining the safety of our patients and staff is our number one priority. “Any changes to patient pathways and Covid tests take into account national guidelines and our own extensive internal risk assessments.”