Overstretched hospitals are stopping routine Covid tests for new patients as “brutal” pressures mount on doctors and nurses, The Independent understands.
On Monday there were 1,702 new Covid admissions to hospitals in England – with 16,442 positive patients occupying beds – the NHS leaders warn their ability to tackle the backlog in planned care is at risk.
Despite pleas from NHS chiefs to measures such as mask-wearing back into force, ministers said there were no plans to change guidance.
The Independent understands at least two major hospitals, in Newcastle and York, have dropped testing of all patients without symptoms in order alleviate pressure on beds – raising fears that Covid could spread on wards unchecked. Sources say other hospitals are likely to do the same as bed pressures worsen.
Sources have told The Independent some trusts have begun to drop “red” Covid only wards, while some are considering not separating patients in A&E.
Emergency pressures on NHS hospitals have been getting progressively worse in recent weeks with who regions declaring critical incidents due to the lack of beds and “perfect storm” brough by Covid admissions combined with staff absences.
Healthcare leaders have called for the government to bring in new measures such as mask wearing and limits on indoor mixing to help guard the NHS from “brutal” pressures.
One expert, critical care doctor Tom Lawton, who analysises hospital aquired infection data, said that stopping patient testing in hospitals was “worrying” and that the NHS would be putting “blinkers on” just as in hospital infections were “as high as they’ve ever been.”
However, several hospital leaders have said not having beds to treat patients is the greater risk. Glen Burley an NHS chief in the warned hospital infection controls were “creating more safety issues than benefits.”
Last week The Independent revealed patients waiting for more than 12 hours from arrival in A&E hit 1,721 a day on average, while ambulances were taking four hours to get to stroke and suspected heart attack patients.
NHS Confederation, which represents hospitals in England, on Monday accused the government of abandoning any interest in Covid and “washing its hands of responsibility”.
Asked whether there could be a return of Covid restrictions, a No 10 spokesperson said there is no change to current guidance but that it would monitor the behaviour of the virus with the Office for National Statistics survey.
Dr Lawton, said that the decision to stop testing was “worrying” and that putting “blinkers” on was not a justified response to the problem.
He explained: “We don’t know exactly how dangerous hospital-acquired Covid is, but people have been dying with it, and we know from studies like CovidSurg that Covid adds risk to surgical patients in the form of clots and heart attacks.
“If we don’t have the resources to do infection control properly, we should at least do what we can, such as keeping Covid and non-Covid patients as far apart as possible. Stopping testing means we can’t do anything to reduce the risk.”
He pointed out that the risks of hospital-acquired Covid are “as high as they’ve ever been”. In the 28 days to 3 April there were 11,936 probable or definite cases in England, which amount to 23 per cent of hospital cases in total.
However, Dr Chris Green, associate clinical professor and consultant physician in infectious diseases, warned that “getting this right is not going to be easy”.
He said that a positive test does not define when someone is infectious, and so the safest course of action is to isolate all patients who test positive, but this places a “huge additional burden” on hospital resources when they are already limited.
“We really need patients under the right specialists at the right time, and anything that disrupts hospital efficiency risks adding to the indirect burden or impact from Covid,” he said.
Lateral flow tests are no longer freely available, raising concerns about the UK’s ability to keep on top of the virus
