Covid: Patient numbers in Manchester hospitals 'have stabilised'

The decision to cancel non-urgent surgery in Manchester hospitals is to be reviewed on Monday

The number of hospital patients with Covid-19 has "stabilised" and staff absence levels have dropped, a Manchester NHS trust has said.

Some non-urgent surgery was halted in the region's hospitals last week amid sharp rises in Covid infections and 15% of staff either off ill or isolating.

More than 20 NHS trusts declared critical incidents due to Covid pressures, including the Morecambe Bay Trust and Blackpool Teaching Hospitals.

They have both since been stepped down.

Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT), which runs 10 hospitals in the region, said it had seen a "significant increase" in patients with the virus occupying its beds.

The number is 85% of the level it was during the peak of the first wave of the pandemic but does not include those in critical care which has remained stable, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

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MFT's director of operations David Furnival told the trust's board meeting the situation had "stabilised" and the number of employees off work due to Covid had dropped over the last five days.

The decision to pause some elective care at MFT is also due to be reviewed on Monday.

Non-urgent operations are still on hold at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust as staff sickness levels are three times their normal levels and wards are being used for the increasing number of patients with Covid.

The trust also paused all birthing activity at Ingleside Birth Centre in Salford on Thursday.

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Meanwhile, the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay, which covers Lancashire and Cumbria, said pressures had eased and officially stepped down its critical incident on Sunday.

In a statement on its website, it said waiting times had reduced and there were fewer people in its emergency departments "although it was still too high".

The trust said staff absence rate remained at about 12.5%, equating to around 1,000 staff.

"Whilst this is still a lot higher than we would usually see, it doesn't currently seem to be increasing at the rate we expected," it said.

Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said there was no longer an internal critical incident in place but added it "continues to closely manage all operations across all sites".

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