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Covid Positive Patients Being Sent Home From St Mary's In Bid For Bed Space

Patients still testing positive for Covid-19 are being sent home from St Mary's as the hospital bids to open up bed space.

Due to the significant and sustained pressures, the Isle of Wight NHS Trust  has had to make difficult decisions to prioritise patients who are in more need of emergency care.

In recent weeks, health leaders across Hampshire and the Island have issued an urgent plea to residents to only seek help in an emergency, amid a perfect storm of rising pressures.

The move to discharge Covid-positive patients falls in line with recent government guidance when it stood down infection control precautions,

They can be sent home or to a care setting, with the appropriate isolation advice.

Now, figures from the Isle of Wight NHS Trust show between April 1 and May 3 it discharged 65 patients who were clinically fit but who had received a positive Covid test up to ten days prior.

Of those discharged, 54 went back to their usual place of residence, including their homes, residential or nursing homes, and 11 were discharged to a temporary residence or specialist care setting.

The trust has asked families and carers to support their loved ones in the short term.

The health body is asking people who think they need urgent or emergency care to phone 111 or visit 111 online first which will then direct them to the service most suited for their needs.

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