Ipswich Hospital facing 'logistical challenge' due to Covid

A picture on social media showed a large number of ambulances outside Ipswich Hospital

An NHS boss said his hospitals were facing a "really big logistical challenge" after a picture on social media showed a large number of ambulances queuing outside.

The image showed about 20 vehicles outside A&E at Ipswich Hospital.

Chief executive Nick Hulme said they had been under "real pressure" due to having to isolate Covid patients.

He said ward capacity was being limited partly due to existing patients testing positive after being admitted.

NHS trust chief executive, Nick Hulme said staff are working to create capacity on the wards in order to move patients out of both A&E departments

Mr Hulme, chief executive of East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Trust, confirmed there had been queues of ambulances outside Ipswich Hospital, and that Colchester Hospital was under similar pressure.

"It's been particularly bad for the last few days in terms of the inability to [transfer] patients into A&E from ambulances," he said.

He added staff were "working incredibly hard" to create capacity on the wards in order to move patients out of both A&E departments to "free up the ambulances to get back on the road".

"Clearly that is creating quite significant risk to the community, so everybody is playing their part," he said.

Nick Hulme said the trust's hospitals had been under "real pressure" due to having to isolate Covid patients

Mr Hulme said Covid - and the current high case rates - was responsible for the difficulties.

Latest figures showed the Ipswich district recorded 1,303 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days up to 26 March, while the East Suffolk district had a rate of 1,129 cases.

The average for English districts was 909 cases per 100,000.

• Record 4.9 million people have Covid in UK

• Covid infections are sky high - why stop testing?

• Covid BA.2 Omicron variant: What you need to know

Mr Hulme said the problem was not because large numbers of people were getting very sick from the virus - Ipswich currently has one Covid patient in intensive care - but because of the "challenge in terms of infection control and prevention".

"There is huge disruption to somebody being found to be positive with Covid when they come into hospital because we need to isolate them," he said.

"That means we have to close beds around that individual and we can't use the beds that we'd normally use."

The chief executive said the problem was not because large numbers were getting very sick from the Covid but because of the "challenge in terms of infection control and prevention"

He said that if a bed was occupied by someone with Covid, it affected the whole bay, and possibly the ward, with patients constantly being moved around.

"We then obviously have difficulties discharging patients if they have Covid, particularly into nursing and residential homes, because understandably they don't want to accept a patient with Covid," he said.

"It's a really big logistical challenge... but everyone is working incredibly hard to see how we can fix this problem."