More patients transferred from Kent hospitals amid Covid crisis
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Updated: 21:14, 01 January 2021
Another 20 critically-ill patients will be transferred from Kent hospitals to free up space as shock new figures reveal the scale of the pressure the NHS is under.
More critically-ill patients will be transferred out of Kent. Picture Michael Krinke Photography
Tonight is emerged preparations are being made to transfer another 20 patients as pressure on the NHS locally reaches crisis point.
The Independent has reported bed occupancy at critical care units in Kent and Medway has reached 137% on New Year s Day.
Data for Kent and Medway shows there are 114 patients in critical care - 55 on ventilators - with only 83 beds available on critical care wards.
Kent Review of the Year 2020: From the London Resort to Manston Airport; sperm whales to tigers; and floods to fundraisers
Wow. 2020, eh? Who saw that coming?
This time last year we celebrated its dawning all punch drunk after relentless Brexit talk and political shenanigans which ended with a December General Election. It all seems a very long time ago doesn t it?
Will the London Resort take giant strides forward during 2021?
But while the pandemic unsurprisingly dominated the headlines as it rode the months like a terrifying rollercoaster, there was plenty of other news going on in this fine county of ours.
East Kent Hospitals Trust s Covid-19 death rate highest in England
Published: 06:00, 31 December 2020
More people are dying with coronavirus in east Kentâs hospitals than anywhere else in England, new figures reveal.
NHS statistics show there have been 125 Covid-19 deaths recorded at sites run by the East Kent Hospitals Trust in the last fortnight, with 40% of beds now occupied by a patient with the virus.
More people are dying of Covid in east Kent hospitals than anywhere else in the country Pic: Stock pic
A long-awaited fall in infection rates across Canterbury, Thanet and Ashford - home to east Kentâs three main hospitals - will give hope that the tide could soon turn.
Home birth service suspended by East Kent Hospitals Trust and Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust due to significant pressure on ambulance service
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Updated: 14:41, 31 December 2020
Mums-to-be hoping to give birth at home have been told this is not possible due to significant pressures on the ambulance service.
Bosses at East Kent Hospitals Trust, which runs the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford and QEQM in Margate, and Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust have suspended home births for the time being to help ease the strain on stretched crews during the pandemic.
QEQM Hospital in Margate. Picture: Google Street View
They initially stopped them in April, with the home birth service resuming in a phased way in June.
Number of Kent Covid-19 hospital patients soars past Spring peak
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Updated: 07:43, 19 December 2020
The number of patients in Kent s hospitals with Covid-19 has soared past the Spring peak.
The NHS in Kent confirmed on Friday evening that it would be postponing non-urgent operations as medics battle to cope with the pandemic s second wave.
The number of Covid patients in Kent s hospitals is now 50% higher than the Spring peak
The surging number of people being treated for coronavirus in the county comes as the Government is reportedly considering imposing tougher restrictions on the region.
Latest figures show there are 934 patients with Covid in hospitals across the county, compared to 622 during the Spring peak - a rise of 50%.