South Tees hospitals under strain from critical Covid cases

The South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust runs James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough

Hospitals are under "real stress" because of the number of critical care Covid cases they are dealing with, a health specialist has said.

There are nine such cases at South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, up from seven the week before.

The trust's public health intelligence specialist Alistair Stewart said other non-Covid critical care beds were already "at maximum capacity".

He said it was "concerning" there had been a rise in cases in the over-75s.

During an update to Middlesbrough Council's Health Scrutiny Panel, Mr Stewart said: "Other critical care, non-Covid critical care beds, are being filled and have increased recently, they are now at maximum capacity.

"So those nine critical care Covid beds are causing a real stress on the service. It is quite concerning at the minute."

There are currently 76 hospital patients who have tested positive for Covid in South Tees, which is up from 66 a week ago, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Of the 76 patients, 36 are over 75 years old, which is up from 25 two weeks ago.

Mr Stewart added: "What we have seen is that the other age groups haven't really changed but we have seen more of the 75 plus which is obviously quite concerning as it is the most vulnerable cohort within that."

He also said that the number of Covid admissions and critical care patients was gradually rising.

As well as people from Middlesbrough, these figures will also include some patients from Redcar and Cleveland and North Yorkshire.