The chief executive of the Royal Cornwall Hospital has revealed plans for a ten-fold increase in the number of intensive care beds in the county.
Currently the hospital has 15 intensive care beds, although that could increase to 146 as the number of coronavirus cases spirals.
To date 15 people have lost their lives to Covid-19 at the Treliske hospital.
Twenty one patients are currently being treated for the disease at the hospital.
Chief Executive Kate Shields says that between the trust’s sites at Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro, West Cornwall Hospital in Penzance, St Michael’s Hospital in Hayle, along with community hospital beds, there should be enough capacity in Cornwall to cope with an influx of Covid-19 patients.
The chief executive said fewer people were presenting with symptoms of Covid-19 at the hospital compared to other parts of the UK, whilst adding:
To date 15 people have lost their lives to Covid-19 at the Treliske hospital.Fewer people are presenting with symptoms in Cornwall, compared to the rest of the UK
At present approximately 12 percent of NHS staff across the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust sites are self-isolating because they or members of their families have Covid-19 symptoms.
Around 12 per cent of staff at the Royal Cornwall Hospital are unwell or self-isolating at the moment
Visitors to all hospitals in Cornwall are now heavily restricted to help slow the spread of coronavirus, Kate says this was a tough call, especially for families of patients with the virus.
