Covid: Dorset hospital boss says wards busier than at virus peak

Prof Alastair Hutchison said he believed wards would become busier over the winter

A hospital boss has said wards are dealing with more sick patients now than at the peak of the Covid pandemic.

Prof Alastair Hutchison, chief medical officer at Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester, told the BBC it was likely to only become "progressively busier".

He said the pressure was mostly being caused by those with illnesses other than Covid who had put off going to hospital during the pandemic.

High flu vaccination uptake would make a "big difference", he added.

Prof Hutchison said the hospital was fuller now than it had ever been before.

"During the peak moments of Covid people with other conditions were tending to stay away from hospital - which was probably not a good thing," he said.

"But it meant at times - even at the peak of Covid - the hospital had spare beds and spare capacity, and now we just don't have that."

Dorset County Hospital has never been as full as it now, Prof Hutchison said

Prof Hutchison said medics had seen one case of a patient who was admitted with both Covid and flu at the same time.

"We're really hoping that does not become a regular feature of admissions," he said.

"Flu vaccinations are key."

He said he believed hospitals across the country were under similar pressure.

England's deputy chief medical officer, Prof Jonathan Van-Tam, warned on Wednesday of some "hard months to come" in the pandemic.

He said that while Covid cases appeared to have stabilised, deaths were rising and there were signs infections were starting to "penetrate" older age groups.

The UK recorded 37,269 Covid cases on Thursday and 214 deaths within 28 days of a positive test.

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