BASINGSTOKE hospital was put on ‘black alert’ earlier this month following a surge in Covid-19 patients.

Hospitals usually declare this highest alert level when they are under such significant pressure that they cannot ‘deliver comprehensive care’ and patient care is at risk.

However, a spokesperson for HHFT said the alert system is internal and refers only to Covid patients, not the wider care of other hospital patients.

Alex Whitfield, chief executive of HHFT reported to the board of directors on January 28 that the Aldermaston Road hospital had been moved to ‘black alert’ status following a rise in Covid-19 patients.

The Gazette asked the trust earlier in January if it was on ‘black alert’, and a spokesperson responded to say it has its “own internal Covid status system to manage our patients and staffing levels depending on the severity and pressure on our service”.

Julie Maskery, chief operating officer at Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “During the pandemic, we have implemented an internal Covid status system to monitor the level of Covid activity in our hospitals, and appropriately action our plans as needed. On 1 January 2021, we moved our hospitals in Basingstoke and Winchester to ‘black’ status to reflect the rising numbers of patients with COVID-19.

“This is an internal system only and helps our teams to be able to respond in the best way, depending on the severity and pressure on our services. This does not reflect our ability to provide the best possible care to all of our patients and our teams continue to work tirelessly to care for everyone who needs us.

“As has been the case throughout the pandemic, our hospitals remain safe and anyone who needs urgent or emergency care should continue to access it.

“We are asking the local community to do all they can to stay safe and follow the guidelines in place as we continue to care for a high number of patients with COVID-19.”

The trust also moved Winchester hospital to ‘black alert’ and Andover hospital to ‘red alert’.

The board of directors was informed last week that more than 200 patients were being treated for Covid in hospitals run by Hampshire Hospitals Foundation Trust (HHFT) in January.

In her report, Ms Whitfield said: “We are in the middle of a second wave of Covid infections, with 229 Covid positive patients in our hospitals at time of writing, and an expectation that this number will continue to increase over the next few weeks.”

Of these patients, 147 were in Basingstoke hospital, 78 in Winchester and four in Andover.

The chief executive said the focus was on “maximising discharges to community settings to ensure that beds remain available for the most poorly patients” and “increasing critical care capacity in line with demand”.

She said the majority of non-urgent, planned work had been stood down to allow staff to prioritise Covid-19 patients.

“It is clear that this wave has been going on for longer, and the number of occupied beds are well above the maximum that was reached in wave 1,” she said, adding: “The forecast numbers vary and the latest information is to plan for a maximum of 229 Covid positive patients in our hospitals with a peak between 18 January and 28 February.”

The board of directors heard that staff were showing “signs of fatigue” with increasing absence at the same time as patient numbers are increasing.

In the emergency department, some patients have had to wait in “sub optimal conditions for urgent care” Ms Whitfield said, as the trust struggles to meet its four-hour performance target.

She said the trust has been focusing on reducing in hospital transmissions of Covid, explaining: “It is a very challenging infection to control.”

All patients are tested on admission, on day three, day five and every five days thereafter.

“It is possible for a patient to test negative on day one, and day three and then test positive on day five, having been incubating the virus since before they were admitted. This means that all patients have to be treated as if they may be positive, even if they have a negative test result,” said the chief executive.

However, the hospital does not have enough single rooms to separate all patients, with patients who test negative being cared for together using rigorous infection prevention control measures.

The report said that case numbers increased in November “affecting inpatients and staff”.

Daily outbreak meetings have been held since October, which includes support from the CCGs, Hampshire County Council Public Health and NHS England.