Coronavirus cases in Wales have “stabilised” – with an estimated 1,900 COVID-19 patients discharged from hospital

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This article is old - Published: Thursday, Apr 23rd, 2020

One in three patients in critical care beds in Wales are occupied by people with confirmed or suspected coronavirus, however the overall number of cases have “stabilised”.

NHS Wales Chief Executive Andrew Goodall provided an update of the figures at this afternoon’s daily Welsh Government press conference, stating that the number of confirmed cases has been between 300 to 400 a day for the past two weeks.

However he added that thee figures vary across Wales, noting that there are higher rates of infection in Aneurin Bevan, Cardiff and Vale and Swansea Bay health board areas – with it previously noted that the virus is spreading east to west and south to north.

Across Wales there are 773 people with confirmed coronavirus in acute hospitals today and a further 335 suspected cases – this is lower than last week.

There is also evidence of lower numbers of people with coronavirus in intensive care.

Asked by ITV Wales if there is any data for recovery rates in Wales, Mr Goodall said an estimated 1,900 patients have been discharged from hospital and recovered.

In terms of bed capacity around 47 per cent of acute hospital beds are currently empty, with all health boards in Wales continuing to report their status as green or level one.

Speaking at today’s press conference Mr Goodall paid tribute to NHS staff and care workers who have died from coronavirus.

He said: “I’m aware, often in these conferences to be giving a general update. And some of that I know, can be at times frightening about some of the experiences that we’re describing here.

“But I think it’s also right to recognise that we do have patients, firstly, who’ve not needed to be in a hospital environment and secondly, that we do have patients who are who are recovering and able to be discharged.

“We don’t have statistical data available that we’ve fully validated. But if I was to give you a feel for seeing people being discharged who have COVID-19 from our hospitals across Wales, probably around 1900 patients have actually been discharged who were admitted with COVID-19 symptoms and have been able to actually to leave our sites and return to their home environments.

“I think that does show that we should be focusing on the fact that we know that people can recover from this terrible virus and that we are able to put in the care and support that’s necessary.”

Mr Goodall also explained the need for an urgent investigation to explore the “growing evidence that coronavirus is having a disproportionate impact on people from black, asian and minority backgrounds.”

He said: “We have robust policies and practices in place to support all our workforce and protect the health and well being at work.

“But we must ensure that we exercise our duty of care in a precautionary way to protect all staff and then to take proper assessments and those from the BAME community while the evidence base has been explored.

“Since I spoke last week, we have received more sad news about NHS staff members passing away.

“Each was an experienced and respected colleague who had provided an outstanding contribution to health care over many years and our thoughts and sympathies are with their families, their friends and their colleagues.”

You can view the full briefing and Q&A below…