Hospital chief thanks residents for following lockdown rules

This is the view of Professor Simon Constable, chief executive for Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, on the second anniversary of the first Covid lockdown today, Wednesday.

The pressures of Covid-19 placed a strain on the hospital never seen before, as more patients became seriously ill with the virus.

But now, reflecting on the past two years as the impact of the vaccination programme releases some of this pressure, the hospital has thanked residents for their efforts.

“If people had not followed the rules, the impact of the pandemic on the hospital would have been worse,” Prof. Constable said.

“Undoubtedly, during all the waves we have been through, it would have been worse if people had not followed the rules.

“We still have around 60 patients with Covid, however the virus is very different now with the vaccination programme than in wave one, with very few people in ICU.

“It is having less of a serious effect on critical care admissions, and most people are being admitted with other things.

A road sign thanking NHS staff on Lovely Lane outside Warrington Hospital

“Covid is still there nonetheless, and we have to abide by infection and prevention control measures in the hospital.

“For residents at present, it is a case of being sensible and cautious.”

The pandemic has resulted in widespread changes to the healthcare system as consultations moved to the virtual world and non-urgent procedures were delayed.

But now the worst of the virus has hopefully passed, attention moves to clearing patient backlogs and ensuring people get the treatment they need.

“The pandemic has been a rollercoaster in terms of peaks and the troughs, but throughout all of that we have tried to maintain as much business as usual as we can, as well as deal with the impact of Covid,” the chief executive continued.

“Covid is very different now than it was 12 months ago with the vaccination programme, and it has undoubtedly taken its toll on people’s health, and we are dealing with that now.

“Undoubtedly pre-pandemic, speaking about people waiting a year for treatment just would not have happened.

“Our number of patients waiting over a year is less than it was this time last year, but it is still a high number, so we need to get that down.

Warrington Hospital

“Urgent treatment kept on going, such as cancer operations and emergency procedures, whereas those not so time sensitive but that nonetheless have a big impact on people’s lives and their quality of life were delayed.

“We now need to get back to doing those, and it is going to take some time to do, but we are working to achieve that.”

As well as the efforts of residents in abiding by lockdowns, the tireless work of frontline NHS staff over the past two years has rightly been praised.

This praise was echoed by Prof. Constable, who added: “Staff have been amazing all the way through, and they have shown enormous resilience, ingenuity and have really come together as a team.

“We are immensely proud of them and the way they have responded.

“If I take you back two years, there was an awful lot of fear and anxiety among staff as we did not really know what we were treating and whether the PPE we were using was going to be effective.

“The pandemic also affected people’s home lives during what was an uncertain and scary time.”