The promising hospital numbers which show North-East on its road to recovery

From horrendous hospital admissions at the peak of the first and second wave, to Intensive Care Units reaching capacity, the situation has been treacherous throughout.

But in a promising sign that the region could finally be on its way to recovery as the Covid vaccine is rolled out, hospitalisation figures have continued to fall.

Across the North-East and Yorkshire generally, hospitalisations as a result of Covid have been steadily coming down since mid-January.

SPECIAL REPORT: The stark message hospital bosses want you to hear as admissions fall in the North-East 

They have been decreasing to levels far lower than what was reported in the period between the second and third national lockdown. 

Hospitalisations are falling lower than what they were following the second lockdown Picture: UK GOVERNMENT

From a staggering 492 Covid admissions across all our hospitals in just one day at the peak of the second wave, figures have dropped to a daily average four times less.

As of most recent NHS England data, reported on March 4, when combining the figures from hospitals in the region, an average of 115 hospitalisations are now being recorded.

Although this may sound high, our individual NHS trusts the have continued to see large decreases in admissions leading up to this period.

In County Durham and Darlington, the NHS trust has seen Covid hospital admissions fall from 57 at its highest peak on January 10, to 15 as of February 25 - a fall of 74 per cent.

On Teesside, the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust has seen admissions fall from 40, its highest on January 7, to seven - a fall of 82 per cent, over the same time frame.

Meanwhile, the South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust - which also run some hospitals in North Yorkshire - has seen admissions fall from 52 on January 11 to ten on February 25 - a fall of 81 per cent.

The North Tees Hospital in Stockton Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT

The fall in Covid admissions reflect a significant change in Covid infections across County Durham, Teesside and North Yorkshire.

In County Durham, where there have been more cases per 100,000 people than anywhere else in the region throughout the pandemic, infections have seen a huge drop in the last two months.

Coinciding with the second wave peak, there were 1,715 new infections in the seven days leading to January 16, 2021 - compared to 551 in the seven days leading to February 27, 2021. 

Analysis of Public Health England figures throughout this time revealed that all other local authority areas across the North-East and North Yorkshire had also witnessed a big drop in infections. 

In turn, this is reflected in the hospitalisation rates for hospitals in the north of the region, where some trusts have gone on to see a reduction of 93 percent in new patients admitted. 

Admissions into the Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust fell from their highest winter peak of 24 on January 17, to ten as of February 25 - a fall of 59 per cent. 

The Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust recorded a drop from 29 daily admissions at its second wave peak in November 4, to just two as of the same time frame. 

Recording the region's largest decreases in Covid admissions, the trust saw a fall of 93 per cent. 

In Sunderland and South Tyneside, the NHS trust serving those communities recorded a large drop with 33 admissions, as of January 9, reduced to just six on February 25 - a fall of 82 per cent.

And although it had recorded a recent spike, Covid admissions into the Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust also dropped significantly.

Admissions are falling across the region but trust bosses are exercising caution

At its peak on January 18, the trust was admitting 31 patients per day - this is now down to nine, as of the same date - a fall of 71 per cent.

It is understood the fall in admissions will allow trusts across the region, some of which have paused a range of non-Covid procedures, to return to services that are closer to pre-Covid levels.

Towards the end of last month, a chief nurse at a Teesside hospital trust revealed it was planning to resume planned surgeries.

Lindsey Robertson of the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust, made the comments as she explained how hospitals would operate as Covid admissions fell.

At the time, she said: “At this point it is too early to allow visitors back into the hospital buildings – but we want to do so as soon as we can.

“We know how hard it is for people not to be able to visit relatives and loved ones. We want to assess at each stage what impact these changes will have and we are looking at the situation very closely.

“We also need to now focus on returning our elective surgery programme, it’s a fine balance.

“The message is to be cautious, it’s really important we remain full of hope – the vaccine is our biggest avenue out of this.” 

Last night, trust bosses across the region welcomed the fall of hospital admissions but told The Northern Echo that there are still high numbers of people requiring critical care.

SPECIAL REPORT: The stark message hospital bosses want you to hear as admissions fall in the North-East  

NHS Trusts representing hospitals from across County Durham, Darlington, Teesside and North Yorkshire responded to the figures.