Coronavirus: Worthing Hospital under ‘severe pressure’ but ‘coping well’, says MP

The MP for East Worthing and Shoreham said Worthing Hospital was under ‘severe pressure’ as a result of rising coronavirus infections but was ‘coping well’ with the situation.
Worthing HospitalWorthing Hospital
Worthing Hospital

Tim Loughton issued a statement via his Facebook page on Wednesday, following a discussion with the chief executive of the hospital.

He said: “COVID patients at Worthing have been doubling each week and are now up to 46 at Worthing, including six in ITU.

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“This is obviously a big increase on the low of three I reported at the beginning of the month.

“In Brighton the number is up to 80, with 16 in ITU.

“This is to be expected given that COVID infection rates in the South-East are now up to 476 per 100,000 population, above the England average of 402 but well below the London level of 814.

“Despite this Worthing is coping well as staff continue to do a fantastic job and there is still sufficient spare capacity, especially in ITU.

“The biggest pressure is coming from calls to take more patients from Kent where hospitals are under severe pressure, though there are calls for these to be diverted to the London Nightingale.

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“The hospital is looking to open up more community beds for convalescing patients.”

Mr Loughton confirmed that staff vaccination was ‘well advanced’ and would be completed in January.

He said the hospital had ‘wisely built up stocks’ of oxygen supplies and was ‘well provisioned’.

Elective operations were being delayed again ‘but will hopefully pick up by mid-January’, he added.

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“As we would expect from the best hospital in the country, Worthing is doing well but under severe pressure,” he said.

“So please do your bit and keep away from A&E unless it is a real emergency and keep away from everybody else as much as possible as well.”

Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has been approached for a comment.