"NHS staff are doing amazing things every day to care for our patients and each other"

Hospital bosses saluted Northamptonshire's "amazing" NHS staff as they go into 2021 battling a triple whammy of winter worries.

Front line doctors, nurses and support workers from care assistants to porters and cleaners at Northampton and Kettering are treating around 1,100 Covid and non-Covid patients with no spare beds and staff shortages due to the virus.

The UK's Clap for Our Carers ended in May but staff are not being forgotten.

Northampton General Hospital CEO Deborah Needham said: “All of our staff are doing amazing things every day to care for our patients and each other in challenging circumstances.

"I am so proud of what they are doing and I know they will continue to support our local communities during these difficult few weeks and months.

“We currently have 270 patients across both hospitals with Covid and, including our normal non-Covid patients, both hospitals are full.

"We expect that as winter progresses and with the new Covid variant these pressures are likely to remain for the next few months.”

The number of Covid-positive patients represents nearly a quarter of the two hospitals' capacity and is a fraction below numbers during the peak of the pandemic's first wave in April.

And NHS leaders made a fresh appeal to the public for support over the holiday weekend.

■ Be ready to collect loved ones as soon as they are medically cleared to go home.

■ Go to A&E only if it is an emergency, life-threatening or if someone is seriously ill

■ If you are not sure where to go, call or click NHS 111,

Ms Needham added: "We are extremely busy and seeing an increase in those people needing to come to our A&E departments at both of our hospitals with Covid symptoms.

“Our local communities have been a huge support to us throughout 2020 and we once again ask for their support to help us during this busy period.

"We are asking for relatives to be ready to collect patients from hospital as soon as they are ready to go home so we can use their bed to treat another patient.

"As well as this we would ask people to choose the right service for their needs to ensure our A&E is able to help those with life-threatening or serious illnesses or injuries.

"If you have an urgent medical concern and you are not sure where to go the NHS 111 online and phone services are there to help or visit your pharmacy or the urgent care centre in Corby."