Surrey hospital staff are fighting a daily battle on our behalf. The current state of Surrey’s health care in the mists of the COVID-19 pandemic makes sobering reading according to the numbers published in Surrey’s Local Resilience Forum Winter Update. In the last few weeks, people becoming infected with coronavirus has increased by almost 50% while hospital admissions have increase by 140%.
According to the update, hospitals in Surrey are struggling under the volume of people coming through the doors. They are not just looking after residents in Surrey, but seriously ill patients from London, Kent, and Sussex as part of the pre-existing mutual aid commitments, as surrounding health infrastructure fails to cope with the numbers of cases they are having to treat.
In the Winter Update, the Chair of Surrey’s Local Resilience Forum, Steve Owen-Hughes says:
“On any given day there are an average 90 people who require specialist ITU intervention in our hospitals”
“Sadly, the temporary mortuary at Headley Court, built during the first wave of the pandemic with the assistance of the military, remains extremely busy. Since the week before Christmas 800 deceased Surrey residents have been managed with dignity and respect through this facility. This is in addition to the 600 people who have died and are in hospital mortuaries across the county.”
Mr Owen-Hughs continues, offering a more positive outlook on the future:
“Surrey Heartlands ICS now has 16 vaccination centres operating across the county – Up to the end of Sunday, 24th January, over 1,500,000 people had received the first dose of their Covid-19 vaccination across Surrey Heartlands and Frimley Health, 75 percent of them over 80 years of age”
“Last weekend following heavy snowfall across the county Surrey County Council provide four-wheel drive vehicles to ensure that health partners could get to care homes.”
“Surrey County Council outlined plans before Christmas to use the government’s Winter Support Grant to help struggling families. This includes the continued provision of Free School Meal vouchers not only over the Christmas holidays, but also during the February half-term and Easter school holidays.”
“Whatever the next few months holds, the LRF will be at the forefront and by working together we will continue to keep people safe and protect them from harm.”
Why have Surrey hospital admissions increase by 140 percent?
There are many factors. People ignoring rules over Christmas and New Year, the new variant being more transmittable, but people are also taking the current lockdown measures less seriously.
At the start of the month, police issued a £10,000 fine after 30 vehicles were reported to be at a single house in Kinsgwood. Over 100 fixed penalty notices have been issued to people breaking lockdown rules. One such incident was a man who had travelled 30 miles from his home in Buckinghamshire, to Surry to buy a takeaway.
Most people however catch COVID in a far more simple way. By not following the basic advice:
You can check the current COVID levels in where you are with this interactive COVID map.
Image Credits:
- Hands, Face, Space: Surrey CC
- Royal Surrey Hospital: Hillbers News
