Nottingham hospital urges 'please do not visit A&E just for Covid test'

NHS frontline workers in Nottingham have urged people to stop showing up at A&E hoping to get a Covid test.

Emergency Department staff at the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham posted a short video message on social media saying it is "not a test centre".

It comes as there have been national shortages of both Lateral Flow Tests and PCRs reported in the last few weeks.

A spokesperson for Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) said people were visiting looking for PCR tests last week.

In a video message reposted on Monday, a spokesman said: "If you need to be in our Emergency Department, you will be tested for Covid.

"But please do not come here only to be tested.

"We are not a test centre."

His comments come as the UK has recorded a record number of new Covid-19 cases, while the number of patients in hospital in England with coronavirus reached the highest level since February.

A total of 15,044 people were in hospital with Covid-19 as of 8am on January 4, according to NHS England.

Meanwhile, health bosses in the Midlands warn the growing number of Covid patients is causing increased disruption to the health system.

Dr Caroline Trevithick, who is the Executive Director of Nursing for Leicestershire and Rutland's Care Commissioning Group, said some hospitals are having to cancel and delay booked procedures.

'The impact is huge... We're having to cancel some of our booked procedures,' Dr Trevithick tells ITV Central

Dr Trevithick told ITV News Central: "The impact on our hospitals is huge at the moment.

"We're having to cancel some of our booked procedures.

"But unfortunately some of those booked procedures are for people who are very ill anyway without Covid and so they're having to be delayed because people with Covid are in hospital."

Cases have risen sharply across the UK, by more than 50%, in the past seven days.

Since December 22, the UK has consistently reported daily case numbers upwards of 100,000.