One in 10 King’s Mill Covid patients may have caught virus in hospital - but health chiefs doing all they can to minimise risk

Analysis of NHS England data shows there were 1,195 Covid-19 admissions at Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Trust between July 19 and January 16.

Of those, 1,072 were infections that occurred in the community, meaning 123 people may have caught Covid while being treated for other conditions over the period, 10 per cent of patients.

In the week to January 16, 76 new Covid patients were being cared for at the trust, which runs Sutton’s King’s Mill, Mansfield Community and Newark hospitals, with 10 thought to have contracted the virus in hospital.

Julie Hogg, SFH chief nurse, said: “We have been able to provide good ventilation to patients, keep more than two metres between patients in communal wards and utilise our side rooms effectively throughout the pandemic.

“As a result, very few beds have had to be shut for infection control reasons, allowing us to operate at full capacity during this extremely busy period.

“We regularly audit our infection control procedures and these have consistently produced good results.

“We have high Covid-19 vaccination levels among our colleagues, who continue to lateral flow test before their shifts, sanitise their hands and wear protective gloves and aprons to provide our patients with the best possible protection while they are in our care.

“Covid-19 is a highly transmissible disease, especially the new Omicron variant, and it is regrettable we have seen hospital acquired cases of Covid-19, which we have robustly investigated to analyse the cause, so we can continuously learn and improve our ways of working.

“We continue with our strict infection prevention control guidance to help minimise any risk to patients during their time in our hospitals.”

‘Dangerous’

Across England, 17,900 patients may have caught coronavirus in hospital since July, 12 per cent of those treated for the virus during this time.

Vishal Sharma, British Medical Association consultants committee chairman, called for the Government's upcoming public inquiry into the pandemic to be transparent.

He said: “No-one should come into hospital with one condition, only to be made incredibly ill with, or even die from, a dangerous infectious disease.”

However, NHS England said reports show outbreaks in hospitals are less common than in other settings.

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