Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Covid: Doctor blames misinformation for hospital admissions rise

Covid: Doctor blames misinformation for hospital admissions rise

Misinformation has led to growing numbers of young, unvaccinated Covid patients in hospitals, one of Wales' top critical care consultants has said.

Dr Ami Jones said hospital staff felt "demoralised" to see the virus filling wards and intensive care units again.

"Covid has gone nowhere," said the consultant at the Grange University Hospital in Cwmbran.

Covid admissions and self-isolation of staff has led one health board to ask non-urgent patients to avoid A&Es.

Hywel Dda, which covers west Wales, has said all of their hospitals are "experiencing very high levels of urgent and emergency care demand".

Wales' case rate is the highest since January as Public Health Wales (PHW) figures said it has risen to 386.6 cases per 100,000 people in the last seven days.

But hospitalisations are much lower due to the vaccine rollout and more cases were expected by health chiefs due to the easing of most lockdown restrictions.

The number of people being treated in hospital for Covid has risen, with 40 patients, including 13 in north Wales, in critical care or on a ventilator as of Friday -up from 31 the previous week.

This is the highest daily figure since 4 March, but the figure remains much lower than at the peak of the second wave.

On Friday, 328 people were being treated for, or suspected to have Covid were in Welsh hospital beds, the highest number since April - and up 35% from the week before.


Dr Jones, who works for Aneurin Bevan University Health Board in south-east Wales, said acute hospitals, emergency departments and respiratory medicine had experienced a "much busier weekend this weekend than we've seen for months in terms of Covid".

"It's predominantly unvaccinated people we're seeing and a number of these are people in their 20s and 30s, with a small number of under-16s requiring hospital care for Covid," she said.

Cases among under-25s are continuing to rise in all but two of Wales' 22 local authority areas, with large rises in Swansea, Vale of Glamorgan and Pembrokeshire.

Pembrokeshire now has the highest case rate among the under 25s - 815.3 per 100,000, compared to a Wales average of 500.1.

Vaccination had made a huge difference in numbers requiring hospital treatment, she said, adding "we have people in our ITU who are very poorly right now who didn't get vaccinated but now wish for nothing more than to be able to turn back the clock and get their vaccine".

"We are all working very hard - we are keeping elective operations going and still running very busy emergency departments and wards.

"The staff are feeling pretty demoralised that Covid is once again filling their wards and their ITUs, especially when so many hospital cases could've been prevented by vaccination.

"It's always heart-breaking to treat patients with avoidable conditions but this time feels different as there's been so much misinformation out there it's made it very tough for people to know who to believe and who to trust.


"But ask any front line worker and they will tell you that vaccination is what's making a difference to the patients we are treating at the moment."

She added that Covid was "everywhere right now" and said people needed to keeping taking precautions and being sensible, whether they were vaccinated or not.

Covid patients make up 3.9% of hospital patients in Wales.

One death, which occurred in north Wales last Thursday, and 3,872 new cases were reported in Tuesday's daily figures in Wales - bringing the total number of cases in Wales to 278,262 and deaths to 5,672 people.

Andrew Carruthers, executive director of operations at Hywel Dda health board, which serves Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion, said: "In common with other health boards across Wales, we are continuing to see high levels of urgent and emergency care demand across our hospitals.

"This is also being compounded by a number of other issues, for example including staff summer annual leave, increased sickness absence and staff self-isolation, rising levels of Covid-positive patient admissions, and reduced bed capacity."

He appealed for members of the public to use alternatives such as their nearest pharmacy or GP and "attend A&E only if you need urgent or emergency medical care".

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Germany Votes to Suspend Family Reunification for Asylum Seekers
Budapest Pride Parade Draws 200,000 Participants Amid Government Ban
Southern Europe Experiences Extreme Heat
Xiaomi's YU7 SUV Launch Garners Record Pre-Orders Amid Market Challenges
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's Lavish Wedding in Venice
Russia Launches Largest Air Assault on Ukraine Since Invasion
Massive Anti-Government Protests Erupt in Belgrade
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Hungary's Prime Minister Criticizes NATO's Role in Ukraine
EU TO HUNGARY: LET THEM PRIDE OR PREP FOR SHADE. ORBÁN TO EU: STAY IN YOUR LANE AND FIX YOUR OWN MESS.
Hungarian Scientist to Conduct 30 Research Experiments on the International Space Station
NATO Members Agree to 5% Defense Spending Target by 2035
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
International Astronaut Team Launched to Space Station
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
Oil Prices Set to Surge After US Strikes Iran
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Hungary Ranked Among the World’s Safest Travel Destinations for 2025
×