Almost a third of Covid patients in Milton Keynes hospital were admitted due to other conditions, research shows

They happened to test positive for Covid too
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Almost one third of Covid patients in Milton Keynes hospitals are being treated primarily for other conditions, it has been revealed.

This means they were admitted for another health reason, but also tested positive for the virus.

But patients who are in hospital with, but not because of, Covid still place extra pressure on the system. They need to be kept away from non-Covid patients and having the virus can have an impact on their health, making their condition more complicated.

Patients with Covid have to be kept away from othersPatients with Covid have to be kept away from others
Patients with Covid have to be kept away from others

The Omicron wave has resulted in a growing number of such patients occupying Covid beds across the UK.

In Milton Keynes, there were 51 Covid-19 patients during the week ending December 26 - the most recent date for which government figures are available. This was an increase of 112.5% from the week ending December 1.

But, according to figures for the South East, only around 69% of them had been admitted primarily due to Covid.

Across the UK as a whole, on December 1 a quarter (25.7%) of Covid patients in hospital in England were being treated primarily for other conditions. By December 28, this had risen to a third (33%).

London has seen the biggest rise in both types of Covid patient. From December 1 to December 28, the number of beds occupied by people being treated mainly for Covid-19 nearly doubled in the capital, from 844 to 1,630.

At the same time, the number of patients who had Covid but who were being treated mainly for other conditions quadrupled, from 180 to 801.

NHS England says patients who are being treated primarily for other matters still need “treatment in areas that are segregated from patients without Covid”, and the presence of the virus can be a serious complicating factor for their health.

However, although hospital admissions are rising in England, there has been no rise in the number of patients on ventilators.