Watford General Hospital is under severe pressure , a health body has said, as Hertfordshire moves into Tier 4. Herts Valleys Clinical Commissioning Group, (CCG) says the hospital is looking after a large number of coronavirus patients, while West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust - which runs Watford General - has tweeted multiple times that its A&E department is really busy or super busy . Jim McManus, Hertfordshire s director of public health, has also warned the situation in hospitals at the moment is “worse than the first wave” and that the NHS is facing extreme pressure . As of December 18, figures published on the government s coronavirus dashboard showed West Herts trust was looking after 149 Covid patients.
This temporary assessment centre for Covid-19 patients as been constructed in Borehamwood. Credit: Bob Redman Patients with coronavirus symptoms can be assessed in Borehamwood after a new centre was set up. A temporary patient assessment centre, run by the NHS, has been built in Allum Manor’s car park in Allum Lane. The centre, which is appointment only, is for patients with Covid-19 symptoms to be seen and checked over by a GP or nurse – meaning patients do not have to attend their own surgery. There was a similar centre earlier in the pandemic in Elstree Way, but it closed in August to allow other services at the clinic to return.