Harrogate hospital coronavirus death toll reaches 121 as critical care beds remain full

NHS England figures published on Sunday show the deaths were recorded on 15 and 16 January. The data represents the deaths of hospital patients who had tested positive for Covid-19 in the previous 28 days.

It comes as Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust has emerged as one of ten hospital trusts across England consistently reporting having no spare adult critical care beds as coronavirus admissions continue to rise.

The total number of critical care beds available at the hospital – ranging from eight to 11 – have been full from the start of the year until January 10, according to recent figures.

Some non-urgent surgeries have also been postponed at the hospital to free up staff to deal with a sharp rise in coronavirus admissions.

The number of patients with Covid-19 in the hospital was last week higher than during the first wave in April 2020.

On Tuesday, the hospital was treating 46 patients with the virus, up from 19 a week earlier.

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The rate of infection in Harrogate had risen sharply after Christmas and has now shown signs of slowing with a drop from 498 cases per 100,000 people on 7 January to 307 cases per 100,000 people on 14 January.

However, the most recent figure is still higher than the peak of the second wave in November.

The Harrogate district has reported a total of 5,939 Covid cases since the start of the pandemic in March last year.

The total number of Covid deaths in the area – including those outside the hospital – stands at 147, according to government figures

By Jacob Webster, Local Democracy Reporter