Covid-19: New strain could impact Lincolnshire's hospitals

Boston Pilgrim and Lincoln County declared a "critical incident" in November due to high levels of patients and staff with Covid

A hospital trust has warned about the possible impact on services if the new strain of coronavirus spreads from a neighbouring area.

Peterborough was one of the areas placed under tier four restrictions after scientists found the virus was "spreading more rapidly".

United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust chief executive Andrew Morgan said any spike would have an impact on services.

He added some planned care in Lincoln and Boston could be cancelled.

The trust had already experienced "a really difficult few weeks," he said.

"We've had some internal critical incidents, mainly driven by the number of Covid-positive inpatients, coupled with staff absences, either due to Covid or due to people having to self-isolate."

Mr Morgan said he was not aware of any cases of the new strain of the virus currently in Lincolnshire, but admitted there would be "implications if we get more cases".

"We are ready, but we are cautious about the impact it would have on our organisation," he said.

Boston is currently seeing high rates of Covid infections

Mr Morgan added that the second wave was already far worse than the first and he was concerned about a possible spike in cases after Christmas.

The trust has also now limited visiting to Christmas Day following the new government guidelines.

Lincolnshire is currently below the England average for infection rates after the national figure increased, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

However, Lincoln currently has more cases than Peterborough, with 412 cases per 100,000 people in the week to 16 December compared to 381 per 100,000.

Boston has also seen high rates of the virus, with 435 cases per 100,000 people in the same period.

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