Covid patient numbers at Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield at lowest level since October

Hospital chief executive Martin Barkley said that he hoped the drop indicated that the "worst of the pandemic" is "behind us".

Mr Barkley said that "about 91" Covid patients were currently being cared for at the hospital, in Wakefield

It represents a drop of more than a quarter since last week and a massive fall since late January, when the numbers passed 250.

However, Mr Barkley said that around one in seven patients were on ventilators to help them breathe, which he attributed to the new variant which developed in the south-east before Christmas.

Revealing the figures at a meeting of the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals Trust board meeting on Thursday morning, he said: "Hopefully the worst of the pandemic, and certainly the third wave at least, appears to be behind us.

"The numbers have reduced by 25 per cent in a week.

"This time last week we had 130 patients and yesterday it was about 91, so it's encouraging news."

The board meeting was also told that non-emergency surgery has resumed at Pontefract Hospital.

Operating theatres at the hospital were closed before Christmas because of Covid pressures.

Earlier this week, it was revealed that 125,000 people across the Wakefield district have had their first Covid jabs.

A higher proportion of health workers have also been vaccinated in the local area than anywhere else in West Yorkshire.

Local Democracy Reporting Service