'Currently no issues' over oxygen levels at Northampton and Kettering General despite Covid stress

Northampton and Kettering General have responded to national concerns that hospitals could run out of oxygen supplies under rising number of Covid patients on wards.

The warning was sparked by a letter to staff by Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust yesterday (January 11) that stated they had reached a "critical situation with oxygen supply".

Managing director of the Essex Hospital Yvonne Blucher told The i Newspaper: "We are experiencing high demand for oxygen because of rising numbers of inpatients with Covid-19 and we are working to manage this.”

Now, both Northampton and Kettering General Hospitals have shared they "currently have no issues" with their oxygen supply.

It comes after officials today revealed 401 coronavirus-positive patients are now being treated in Northampton and Kettering — an increase of 59 since Thursday and 188 on December 25.

NHS England has also confirmed 103 deaths at Northampton General Hospital and Kettering General Hospital in its daily bulletins between Christmas Day and yesterday (Monday).

Stuart Finn, director of estates and facilities said: “We know that many patients who come to hospital with COVID-19 often experience breathing problems and may need ventilation treatment to help them breathe more easily.

"We do not currently have any issues with our oxygen supply. The teams across the hospital are working closely together to ensure that our oxygen supply is managed safely and effectively.

“During the pandemic we have installed new artificial intelligence software to support in us monitoring oxygen supply. This has been a very valuable tool and enables us to monitor levels 24/7."

Around 36 per cent of 1,100 places in in Northampton General Hospital and Kettering General Hospital are now filled by patients with the virus.

During the first wave of the pandemic, the number of hospital patients peaked at 274 in Northamptonshire.

The county's director of public health Lucy Wightman said in a press conference on January 7: "The number of Covid patients requiring treatment has an impact on the number of staff available to support everybody else who needs critical and emergency care.

"GP practices are struggling to reach all the 'business as usual' patients while our ambulance service is also stretched to capacity and having trouble off-loading patients at hospitals because they are so busy.

"We're finding we can't get numbers through A&E which means people attending for reasons other than Covid — a slip, trip or fall, a minor road accident, or chest pains for example — we've got pressure on those services."