Staffordshire surgery delayed due to Covid numbers and isolating

The trust runs Royal Stoke University Hospital (pictured) and County Hospital in Stafford

A trust has postponed some operations because of a rise in the number of patients it is treating with Covid-19 and staff asked to self-isolate after contact tracing.

University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust said it would contact people with a new date "in the days ahead".

All local authorities in Staffordshire have seen a rise in cases in the latest figures from Public Health England.

The trust apologised to patients whose treatment had been delayed.

The organisation, which runs Royal Stoke University Hospital and County Hospital in Stafford, said it had had to "make the difficult decision to postpone some operations and procedures".

Chief operating officer Paul Bytheway said before any cancellation "there is a rigorous clinical process to agree the postponement with the clinical team".

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In Stoke-on-Trent, the Covid-19 rate has risen to 614 new infections per 100,000 people in the seven days up to 17 July - up from 458 the week before.

Some parts of Staffordshire, however, are experiencing even higher figures.

In Tamworth, at one time among the worst affected parts of England, the rate has risen 11% to 713 new cases per 100,000 people in the same period.

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More than half a million alerts telling people to self-isolate were sent by the NHS Covid-19 app in England and Wales in the first week of July.