Sherwood Forest hospitals now caring for as many patients with Covid-19 as during the April peak

There are now 85 beds in hospitals run by the trust occupied by people who have tested positive for coronavirus, with six patients in intensive care units.

Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust includes King's Mill Hospital, Newark Hospital and Mansfield Community Hospital.

This comes according to latest available figures published by the NHS, which refer to the number of beds occupied as of November 3.

A week ago, on October 27, the number of patients occupying beds was 54, and seven were in ITU.

In August the number of hospital beds occupied by Covid-19 patients was down to zero, however it has been steadily rising since then.

Richard Mitchell, chief executive of the trust, said: “This week the number of patients with Covid at Sherwood has reached the peak number we saw in wave one and our hospitals feel very busy.

"More positive news is fewer patients are passing away with Covid, fewer patients so far have been admitted onto our intensive care unit, and we are able to safely discharge patients quicker, all compared to wave one.

"Comparisons are imprecise though because we are testing more patients now and we have more services running, compared to wave one.”

The trust said the best way to help prevent hospitals from becoming overwhelmed is to follow the government guidelines put in place by the national lockdown, and maintain social distancing.