Number of Covid patients on ventilators in East Lancashire dropped during December

A total of nine people were occupying ventilation beds on December 1st, but by December 28th this figure had come down to four.

This is despite the number of new Covid admissions doubling from 23 to 46 during the same period.

Most Covid-positive patients in English hospitals are being treated primarily for coronavirus, although the Omicron wave has resulted in a growing minority who are admitted for other conditions but who test positive for Covid-19 as well.

On December 1, a quarter (25.7%) of Covid patients in hospital in England were being treated primarily for other conditions. By December 28, this had risen to a third (33%).

Patients who are in hospital with, but not because of, Covid still place extra pressure on the system.

NHS England says patients who are being treated primarily for other matters still need “treatment in areas that are segregated from patients without Covid”, and the presence of the virus can be a serious complicating factor for their health.