Following this week’s announcement of a national lockdown, our hospitals remain under increased pressure. We now have 70% more Covid-19 positive patients than we did at the peak of the first wave. Please continue to follow national guidance to stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives.

This week the vaccination programme in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire has seen four more local vaccination services open to offer vaccinations for the priority cohorts. Health bosses have asked the public to wait until they have received their letter before contacting the NHS, their GP or local hospital hub – the letter will have full details of how to make an appointment. 

Do not call your GP or turn up at A&E or your doctor’s surgery – the only way to get an appointment and the jab is to follow the instructions in the letter.

Latest hospital figures:

• We have seen 348 admissions relating to Covid-19 in the seven days to 3rd January, compared with 253 for the previous seven days.
• We have 507 beds occupied by Covid+ patients as of the 5th January, this compares to 450 on 29th December.
• Of those 507 beds, 7% were mechanically ventilated.
• We now have 71% more people in our hospitals than we did at the peak of the first wave in April.
• In the week from 31st December – 6th January we saw 53 deaths.
• To date, 325,923 flu vaccinations have been administered and recorded, with 3,482 in the last 7 days. This is 69% of the eligible population. Find out more about flu and if you are eligible for a free flu vaccine here: https://nottm-ccg-archive.ginger-root.co.uk/flu-guidance/
• In November, we saw 482,905 appointments in general practice. Of those, 55% were face-to-face, and half (50%) were on the same day or the next day.

Dr Andy Haynes, Executive Lead, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care System, said: “The pressure on our hospitals remains a great concern with numbers of patients expected to rise further. We must continue to follow the guidance in order to make sure these numbers fall next month.

“The vaccination programme continues to progress each week. This is the biggest vaccination programme the NHS has ever undertaken. It is a huge challenge and our teams are working exceptionally hard to coordinate and administer the vaccine to those in our communities as quickly as possible.

“This week four sites have gone live in the community which is fantastic news and a really positive step forward – we now have seven sites delivering vaccinations to our population. We expect more to open in the coming days and weeks. We understand that the public are keen to see themselves and their relatives get vaccinated and that this is a worrying time. I would like to reassure you that all of our modelling indicates that as long as we continue to receive supply of the vaccine, we are on track to deliver the vaccines to the top four cohorts in line with the Prime Minister’s deadline of mid-February. We aim to have all our over 80s and care home residents and staff vaccinated by the end of the month, again assuming we continue to receive the vaccine from the government.

“To help us do this, it is important that the public don’t contact the NHS to seek a vaccine. We will contact you. We will send out a letter inviting individuals to book an appointment so when you receive your letter act quickly, following the instructions in the letter.”

Remember:

The NHS is here for you and so if you are concerned about a new lump or mole or have any other health issues then please get in touch with your GP or in an emergency call 999. If you are unsure which service you need, call 111 or go to 111 Online who will advise you on the best service for your needs.

If you have symptoms of coronavirus, including a new continuous cough, a high temperature or a loss of, or change in, your normal sense of smell or taste, then get a test by calling 119 or go online to https://www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test

For more information about the Covid-19 vaccination programme, please click here.