THE number of patients in hospital across Devon and Cornwall following a positive COVID-19 test has fallen in the last week.

NHS England figures show that, as of Tuesday morning, December 8, there were 231 patients across Devon and Cornwall in hospital after a positive COVID-19 test. This compares to 255 as of December 1.

Patient numbers within hospitals in Cornwall have decreased, as they have at the Royal Devon and Exeter, Derriford Hospital, Torbay Hospital and at Livewell South West facilities, while the numbers at North Devon District Hospital are unchanged.

The Nightingale Hospital in Exeter has seen an increase in the number of patients, rising to 32 from 20 as of last week.

The figures show there were 88 patients in the Royal Devon and Exeter (down from 101), 36 in Derriford Hospital in Plymouth (down from 45), 23 in Torbay Hospital (down from 28), 37 in North Devon District Hospital (unchanged), five at the Royal Cornwall Hospital (unchanged), two in Cornish Partnership Trust hospitals (down from 6), while 7 beds at Livewell SouthWest facilities (down from 12) and one bed at Devon Partnership Trust facilities (unchanged) were also occupied, as well as the 32 patients at the Nightingale.

And the number of patients in Mechanical Ventilation beds has fallen as well, dropping from 19 to 12, with four at the RD&E, five at Derriford Hospital and three in North Devon District Hospital. There are no mechanical ventilation beds in Cornwall or Torbay being occupied by patients following a positive COVID-19 test.

The figures show the amount of patients in hospital following a positive COVID-19 test who are currently occupying a bed.

But not every patient would necessarily have been admitted to hospital due to COVID-19, with a number of patients either contracting the virus inside the hospital, or being admitted for unrelated reasons but subsequently testing positive asymptotically when given routine tests.

by Daniel Clark, Local Democracy Reporter