People who died from Covid after catching it in hospital

[Vince Green]

Exclusive: More than a fifth of Covid deaths at some hospitals after patients caught virus on wards

At the height of the second wave in January more than 3,000 patients a week were catching the virus in hospital

ByInvestigations Team31 March 2021 • 9:31pm

More than a fifth of the Covid deaths at some hospitals occurred after patients caught infections on wards, The Telegraph can disclose.

Freedom of Information requests to hospital trusts around the country found that 3,264 people who caught Covid in hospital have died since March last year, with nine organisations recording that more than 100 patients had lost their lives after contracting the virus in their care.

Bereaved families said that the number of people who died as a result of catching the virus when they were being treated for other illnesses must be part of any future inquiry into the handling of the pandemic. The disclosure is likely to raise questions about whether infection control measures are adequate.

On Wednesday night, Barbara Keeley MP, member of the Health and Social Care Select Committee, said that it was “unacceptable” that so many people had died after catching the deadly virus in hospital. “Every Covid-19 death is a tragedy, and it is unacceptable that more than 3,000 people have now died from Covid-19 infections they acquired in hospital," she said.

The figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act include patient deaths among both “probable” cases – those who first tested positive for the virus between eight and 14 days after they were admitted to hospital – and “definite” cases – those with a positive test 15 days or more after admission.

At Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, 128 patients who were suspected to or definitely caught Covid while in hospital died – equivalent to 24 per cent of the total Covid deaths at the Trust.

It was followed by Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Trust, where coronavirus infections caught in hospital accounted for 21 and 20 per cent of the organisations’ respective Covid deaths.

University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust reported the highest number of deaths. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 222 patients – both probable and definite cases – have died with Covid after catching the virus in hospital. 

A spokesperson for the Trust said that community transmission levels in their area had been “consistently higher” than the national average throughout the pandemic and infections were known to increase in line with this. They said that patient and staff safety was a “top priority” during the pandemic. 

Less than half of NHS trusts responded so the true number of patients who died after catching Covid at the country’s hospitals could be much higher. 

Official figures show that more than 40,000 patients caught Covid, or were suspected to, while in hospital being treated for other conditions. At the height of the second wave in January more than 3,000 patients a week were catching the virus in hospital. The latest figures show this has dropped to just over 200 patients a week.

An NHS England spokesperson said that “hospitals implement robust infection control measures in line with the guidance from Public Health England and other UK-wide guidance”.

'We thought he was safe, and he just wasn’t': Families reveal 'inadequate' infection controls

Matt Pears (R), who passed away after catching Covid in hospital, with his family CREDIT: Pears family

When Matt Pears was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, his family felt hopeful that he would recover.

Only in his late 40s, Mr Pears had been in good health before discovering he had cancer and the prognosis seemed to be good.

But after he was admitted as an inpatient for intensive chemotherapy in the spring, his family became concerned. A potentially deadly virus was sweeping the country and they feared he might be vulnerable.

In April, the family were told that Mr Pears had caught Covid-19 and by the middle of May, he had died.    

“Obviously he was terrified, he was very frightened and he was very angry”, said Mrs Edmunds, Mr Pears's sister.  “We thought he was in the best place, we thought he was safe, and he just wasn’t.”

Looking back, his sister said that whilst the family are full of praise for the medical staff who treated Mr Pears, they also feel “angry” that he caught the virus in hospital.

Mr Pears was treated at the Royal Derby Hospital and whilst he was there, both he and his family had concerns, believing that infection control measures were “inadequate”. 

“The PPE was a huge issue”, said Mrs Edmunds. “I remember my brother saying to me on the phone: 'people are coming out onto his ward, without PPE'. They were coming from other wards as well and coming to see him.”

Mrs Edmunds said that she felt the Government had “let down” people who went into hospital for other illnesses and then caught Covid-19.

It is a distressing story, but not unfamiliar. 

An investigation by The Telegraph has found that more than 3,000 people have died after catching coronavirus in hospital when they were being treated for other conditions. 

Official figures show there have been more than 40,600 patients who caught Covid while in hospital being treated for an unrelated illness, but this data has only been published since August and does not include the number of patients who subsequently died.

An NHS respiratory consultant who wished to remain anonymous said he had seen vulnerable respiratory patients mistakenly being put on Covid wards because their symptoms were similar to Covid, and later dying after catching the virus.

“When these patients died it was especially distressing as we knew their infection was acquired in hospital,” he said. “I kept a record at first, and I got to around 15 patients who this happened to at the Trust where I was working during the first wave of the pandemic.”

A number of trusts said in their FOI responses that they could not be certain Covid was the cause of death.

Elaine Williams-Bird lost her brother, Ian Williams, last October after he caught Covid on the respiratory ward of Doncaster Royal Infirmary while being treated for pneumonia.

The 56-year-old, who had a long-term respiratory condition, was admitted on Sept 23 and put on a respiratory ward which his family feared was “fast becoming a Covid ward”. They were told he had Covid two days before he died.

Ian Williams caught coronavirus in October on the respiratory ward of Doncaster Royal Infirmary 

During the first wave of the pandemic and during the national lockdown, Mr Williams’s daughter, who lived with and cared for him, was scrupulous about following the regulations and took every precaution to protect her father from Covid. 

Ms Williams-Bird said that she “finds it hard to bear that Ian contracted Covid when he was in hospital”.

“We will never know how much more time he might have had.” 

In a letter to Ms Williams-Bird the hospital said that the number of Covid patients being admitted meant there was a “tipping point” when the respiratory ward Mr Williams was placed in became a designated Covid ward. The remaining patients who didn’t have the virus were moved elsewhere.

All the hospitals said they had followed national infection control guidance. 

Dr Magnus Harrison, executive medical director at University Hospitals of Derby and Burton, said that their “staff strictly follow Public Health England guidance on PPE and infection prevention and control measures”.

Dr Ken Agwuh, director of Infection, Prevention and Control and Consultant Microbiologist at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals, said: “While Covid and non-Covid patients may be cared for within the same area they are never nursed in the same enclosed bays and – throughout the pandemic – we have followed national guidance to ensure we deliver care as safely as possible.”  

Email your hospital experiences to covidstories@telegraph.co.uk

[oowee]

Highlights the over all poor state of funding and lack of capacity within the NHS. Lack of PPE and testing availability at the early stages of the pandemic. Serious failing by Govt in preperation in advance of the pandemic. 

Edited April 1, 2021 by oowee

[oldypigeonpopper]

Hello, a local farmer went into hospital for a routine op and died of Covid,, how many NHS staff doing their job died of Covid ??, These I presume were all in good health, I am sure the government paid around £60, 000, per person, little comfort to the families, I wonder if there will be an enquiry ?? when all said and done do you think the government handled this well from the very start ????

[Rob85]

I don't see what else the government could have done, I mean they brought in lockdowns and look at all the clowns who just screamed out about their freedoms and how it was all a conspiracy. Then the other clowns that thought it was a good idea to go out and protest over things that could have probably waited.

I don't think it was so much a failure of government but a failure of today's society to look after themselves by adopting some better practices.

The hospital infections were always going to happen, I think it's pointless saying that this pandemic showed up a lack of capacity or funding in the NHS, no health system in the world was made to deal with this kind of pandemic, it also doesn't make any financial sense to have thousands of healthcare workers being standing about getting paid for nothing "Just incase" there is a massive pandemic.

In my very un-expert opinion there was 4 things in particular that kicked the pandemic off big time in the UK and Ireland:

1. Lack of truth and transparency from China

2. Cruise in ships Asia being mobile super spreaders

3. The first massive super spreader event that spread it between the UK and Ireland-Cheltenham Festival 

4. People still insisting on sodding off on foreign holidays to Spain and Italy even after they were identified as the covid hot spots in europe. (First identified case in NI was from an Italian holiday)

I don't think it does anyone any favours now to bash the government too much, look at every other government in the world bar a small few... they all done poorly at the start, hell France is now into another nationwide lockdown!

[Raja Clavata]

My Father always said that a hospital is just about the last place you want to be when you're sick.

[oldypigeonpopper]

20 minutes ago, Rob85 said:

I don't see what else the government could have done, I mean they brought in lockdowns and look at all the clowns who just screamed out about their freedoms and how it was all a conspiracy. Then the other clowns that thought it was a good idea to go out and protest over things that could have probably waited.

I don't think it was so much a failure of government but a failure of today's society to look after themselves by adopting some better practices.

The hospital infections were always going to happen, I think it's pointless saying that this pandemic showed up a lack of capacity or funding in the NHS, no health system in the world was made to deal with this kind of pandemic, it also doesn't make any financial sense to have thousands of healthcare workers being standing about getting paid for nothing "Just incase" there is a massive pandemic.

In my very un-expert opinion there was 4 things in particular that kicked the pandemic off big time in the UK and Ireland:

1. Lack of truth and transparency from China

2. Cruise in ships Asia being mobile super spreaders

3. The first massive super spreader event that spread it between the UK and Ireland-Cheltenham Festival 

4. People still insisting on sodding off on foreign holidays to Spain and Italy even after they were identified as the covid hot spots in europe. (First identified case in NI was from an Italian holiday)

I don't think it does anyone any favours now to bash the government too much, look at every other government in the world bar a small few... they all done poorly at the start, hell France is now into another nationwide lockdown!

Excellent post 👍

[Vince Green]

1 hour ago, oowee said:

Highlights the over all poor state of funding and lack of capacity within the NHS. Lack of PPE and testing availability at the early stages of the pandemic. Serious failing by Govt in preperation in advance of the pandemic. 

This data refers to the second wave in January this year, no problems with PPE then and probably no blame attached to the Government for these deaths

More a lack of proper infection control on the part of the hospitals. The report quotes examples of covid and non covid patients being treated on the same ward. You don't need to be medically qualified to know thats not right

There does need to be an enquiry, the NHS has been a bit smug through out this pandemic with everybody clapping and putting rainbows in their windows. Now it turns out they may be responsible for thousands of un necessary deaths through poor practices

Edited April 1, 2021 by Vince Green

[Rob85]

31 minutes ago, Raja Clavata said:

My Father always said that a hospital is just about the last place you want to be when you're sick.

Mum always says that, if you want to get sick, go to hospital.

In her opinion things were cleaner in wards when the matron still ran the nursing staff like a seargent major, when you walked onto a ward and the first thing you could smell was disinfectant 

[Vince Green]

35 minutes ago, Raja Clavata said:

My Father always said that a hospital is just about the last place you want to be when you're sick.

Thats always been true. HAIs have killed millions

[turbo33]

55 minutes ago, Rob85 said:

I don't see what else the government could have done, I mean they brought in lockdowns and look at all the clowns who just screamed out about their freedoms and how it was all a conspiracy. Then the other clowns that thought it was a good idea to go out and protest over things that could have probably waited.

I don't think it was so much a failure of government but a failure of today's society to look after themselves by adopting some better practices.

The hospital infections were always going to happen, I think it's pointless saying that this pandemic showed up a lack of capacity or funding in the NHS, no health system in the world was made to deal with this kind of pandemic, it also doesn't make any financial sense to have thousands of healthcare workers being standing about getting paid for nothing "Just incase" there is a massive pandemic.

In my very un-expert opinion there was 4 things in particular that kicked the pandemic off big time in the UK and Ireland:

1. Lack of truth and transparency from China

2. Cruise in ships Asia being mobile super spreaders

3. The first massive super spreader event that spread it between the UK and Ireland-Cheltenham Festival 

4. People still insisting on sodding off on foreign holidays to Spain and Italy even after they were identified as the covid hot spots in europe. (First identified case in NI was from an Italian holiday)

I don't think it does anyone any favours now to bash the government too much, look at every other government in the world bar a small few... they all done poorly at the start, hell France is now into another nationwide lockdown!

Couldn't have put it better Rob. Look at now, all back out, no social distancing, plenty still spreading the rumour its a scamdemic. 

31 minutes ago, Vince Green said:

This data refers to the second wave in January this year, no problems with PPE then and probably no blame attached to the Government for these deaths

More a lack of proper infection control on the part of the hospitals. The report quotes examples of covid and non covid patients being treated on the same ward. You don't need to be medically qualified to know thats not right

There does need to be an enquiry, the NHS has been a bit smug through out this pandemic with everybody clapping and putting rainbows in their windows. Now it turns out they may be responsible for thousands of un necessary deaths through poor practices

I think that a very unfair.

[Rob85]

1 minute ago, turbo33 said:

Couldn't have put it better Rob. Look at now, all back out, no social distancing, plenty still spreading the rumour its a scamdemic. 

Even setting aside the rumour mill the other big problem is the polarisation of the issue in terms of political allegiance. I see people on social media won't like anything the government does because "all torys are evil rich toffs" in the same vein these people don't realise they are the only ones bringing class arguments to the fore when they claim that any working class person who votes for a tory government is a traitor to their class. Language like that is how you sleepwalk into a totalitarian state

[udderlyoffroad]

30 minutes ago, turbo33 said:

I think that a very unfair.

I think it bang on the money.

The NHS was pi**poor at infection control before this pandemic, certainly nowhere near the standard it should be for a developed nation.  And no, the problem is not lack of money.

 

[bruno22rf]

I was in hospital last July for just over a week, the chair in my room had blood on it, the shower cubicle was thick with grime and in the 6 days that I was in the room was never cleaned apart from one guy came in with a mop one morning and casually flicked it around. The NHS does not need more funding, it needs somebody in charge of each ward with balls.

[oowee]

16 minutes ago, udderlyoffroad said:

I think it bang on the money.

The NHS was pi**poor at infection control before this pandemic, certainly nowhere near the standard it should be for a developed nation.  And no, the problem is not lack of money.

 

What is it then? Do you think it deliberate, or they don't know it's an issue or they don't know how to do it?  

[Vince Green]

20 minutes ago, oowee said:

What is it then? Do you think it deliberate, or they don't know it's an issue or they don't know how to do it?  

Lack of accountability

[Rewulf]

28 minutes ago, udderlyoffroad said:

I think it bang on the money.

The NHS was pi**poor at infection control before this pandemic, certainly nowhere near the standard it should be for a developed nation.  And no, the problem is not lack of money.

This.

You must all have heard of someone going into hospital for a routine operation, and developing MRSA or some other 'dirty' disease ? Some becoming more ill than they were originally, some never coming home...
The last time I took someone to A and E , the TV in the waiting room proudly displayed they had ONLY had 60 odd cases of MRSA that week !?  And that figure was within acceptable levels ?

30 minutes ago, bruno22rf said:

I was in hospital last July for just over a week, the chair in my room had blood on it, the shower cubicle was thick with grime and in the 6 days that I was in the room was never cleaned apart from one guy came in with a mop one morning and casually flicked it around. The NHS does not need more funding, it needs somebody in charge of each ward with balls.

Spot on , I can recount similar, even worse stories like this.
Its totally unacceptable, yet we just live ,and sometimes die with it.

17 minutes ago, oowee said:

What is it then? Do you think it deliberate, or they don't know it's an issue or they don't know how to do it?  

Good question.
If a surgeon operated on you , and he had an infectious disease that he knew about , or didnt scrub up, is that deliberate , or just plain negligent ?
When they put a post op patient on a covid ward full of coughing patients, is that deliberate or negligent ?
What happened to quarantine ?

22 minutes ago, oowee said:

What is it then? Do you think it deliberate, or they don't know it's an issue or they don't know how to do it?  

They know very well its an issue, what do they do about it ?
Ask for more money, then employ some more clerical staff, and some minimum wage Filipinos or E. Europeans to half heartedly push brooms about.
THEN they say its all because of lack of funding, again.

32 minutes ago, oowee said:

What is it then? Do you think it deliberate, or they don't know it's an issue or they don't know how to do it? 

Well , you could be forgiven for thinking that, because lets face it, they dont seem to be running the NHS very efficiently do they?
And you can blame the tories, but even when labour was in charge , pumping money in like there was no tomorrow , it was still a lumbering behemoth of inefficiency.

The NHS needs major reform, it needs more accountability to the people who pay for it, the top end needs pay linked to performance, and the bottom end needs paying more across the board.
The biggest employer in the country, yet its executive arent fit to run a raucous inebriated party in a brewery.
 

[Mr.T]

2 hours ago, Vince Green said:

This data refers to the second wave in January this year, no problems with PPE then and probably no blame attached to the Government for these deaths

More a lack of proper infection control on the part of the hospitals. The report quotes examples of covid and non covid patients being treated on the same ward. You don't need to be medically qualified to know thats not right

There does need to be an enquiry, the NHS has been a bit smug through out this pandemic with everybody clapping and putting rainbows in their windows. Now it turns out they may be responsible for thousands of un necessary deaths through poor practices

Well said, totally agree with you, infection control is poor at best and non existent in many cases. And most of the media coverage has passed on this without question 

[Yellow Bear]

1 hour ago, Rewulf said:

The biggest employer in the country, yet its executive arent fit to run a raucous inebriated party in a brewery.

Very true, however the strangle hold of the unions over who is allowed to do what needs to be removed.  And before the perpetually offended shout, two prime examples are ==  general cleaners not allowed to wipe any surfaces above shoulder height   == General cleaners not allowed to move trolleys/ wheelchairs that are in the way they have to get a porter to do it.

[Newbie to this]

Did someone say "contaminated blood transfusions" 

[JohnfromUK]

8 hours ago, bruno22rf said:

The NHS does not need more funding, it needs somebody in charge of each ward with balls.

This /\

I also did a few days in hospital (non Covid) in 2020, and although it was reasonably clean (as far as I could tell anyway) - it was both disorganised and very very labour intensive (like manually transcribing results (BP, pulse, temp etc) from a machine onto a log, then onto a PC, then onto a manual record card - all needing two nurses to check each others work). In asked and the machine can transfer automatically ....... but they don't have the software to do that.

 

[ordnance]

If you want to avoid CV19 hospital would be the last place you would want to go, but some people have no choice.   

[Scully]

8 minutes ago, ordnance said:

If you want to avoid CV19 hospital would be the last place you would want to go, but some people have no choice.   

Yep. My old GP was due to go into hospital for a cancer op many years ago, and I was amazed to see him still out jogging prior to his op.
He told me he wanted to be as fit as possible before he went in as hospitals are the last place you want to be when you’re ill,  unless like you say, you’re so ill you have no choice.