'Serious implications' ahead for Gloucestershire health services if people don't follow lockdown rules

Health bosses said the county will see a "surge" in cases if people don't follow lockdown rules.

Health bosses in Gloucestershire have warned of "rising hospital admissions" and a "surge in coronavirus cases" if lockdown rules are not followed in the coming weeks.

Leaders from NHS Gloucestershire CCG have issued a joint letter telling people in the county that local hospitals are under "enormous pressure".

They said patient numbers are 60% higher than they were at the peak of the first wave.

Accountable Officer at the CCG and One Gloucestershire Integrated Care System (ICS) lead, Mary Hutton, said: “We are urging people to take every possible precaution to help reduce transmission.

"There are potentially very serious implications for the NHS if we do not rapidly get this virus under control. The lockdown is needed to protect local people and local health services.”

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Dr Amjad Uppal, Medical Director at Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust, added: “This isn’t about scaring people, but it is our responsibility to spell out the implications of not adhering to the lockdown rules.

"It’s about taking personal responsibility – staying at home wherever possible, exercising social distancing and wearing a face covering when going out for essential reasons and considering the impact of our actions on vulnerable people like older relatives.”

The bosses also warned people living in Gloucestershire that the roll-outs of the Pfizer and Oxford AstraZeneca vaccines do not mean they can let their "guards down."

As of 31 December 2020 more than 5,000 health and social care staff in the county had received their first dose of the vaccine at Gloucestershire Royal's hub.

Outside of the NHS, more than 20,000 people had been given their first dose at vaccination centres and care homes before the start of the new year.

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