Swansea Bay UHB - Update on Covid-19 outbreaks
(Figures correct at 1pm 19/10/20. Please note: Totals are cumulative.)
Morriston Hospital is continuing to manage a Covid-19 outbreak in cardiac services.
Unfortunately, a small number of other wards are also now managing similar but unconnected outbreaks.
Hospital staff are working closely with colleagues in Public Health Wales to carefully manage the outbreaks and limit the spread of infection, while doing all they can to protect patient services.
Across the hospital, a total of 39 patients and 28 staff have tested positive for Covid-19 to date.
Some of these patients have been discharged home with the appropriate advice. Those who remain in the hospital are being carefully managed.
Staff who have tested positive and their contacts are isolating at home.
All affected wards are closed to new patients and routine planned cardiac surgery remains suspended.
However, emergency and urgent patients are still able to receive care from staff working within stringent infection control arrangements.
Morriston Hospital Unit Director Deb Lewis and Nurse Director Mark Madams said: “We would like to put on record our thanks to the staff at Morriston Hospital, who are responding magnificently, demonstrating great resilience and bravery, while continuing to put patients at the heart of everything they do.”
At Singleton Hospital, an outbreak among maternity staff remains stable, with no new Covid-19 cases reported. As before, there is no evidence of transmission to mothers and babies.
Swansea Bay UHB’s Executive Medical Director, Professor Richard Evans, said: “This continues to be a very challenging time for the NHS as a whole. We would like to reassure patients that their safety and that of our staff is of utmost importance and we are doing all we can, working with our colleagues in Public Health Wales, to contain the spread of the virus while minimising the impact on our services.
“Aside from the impact of these particular outbreaks, our hospitals are also feeling the pressure from increasing transmission of the virus in the community, resulting in an increasing number of people being admitted to hospital.
“On Monday morning across our sites we had a total of 62 patients with confirmed Covid-19 and 25 suspected of having the infection. That is 31 more patients with confirmed and suspected Covid-19 than we had on Friday, October 16th.
“These figures clearly demonstrate the impact the virus is having on our local health services.
“Contact tracing has identified that household contacts and workplaces continue to be a significant source of infection and those community infections are having a knock-on effect on our hospitals.
“We understand this is a hugely challenging situation, particularly as we head into the ‘fire-break’ lockdown for two weeks. It’s important to emphasise though, that this is not just a problem for one part of society, which is why we must all follow the rules and reduce the spread of this dangerous infection.”
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