An NHS Grampian health chief has pleaded for people who want to visit others at Christmas to start self-isolating “now”.
Jillian Evans, who is the head of health intelligence at NHS Grampian, said staff all across the health board area are “extremely nervous” about the festive period, with Aberdeen Royal Infirmary already “almost full”.
Last night there were 61 Covid patients at ARI, and seven of those are receiving intensive care.
It comes after a series of outbreaks across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, including at meat and fish processing plants, and in care homes where at least 16 people have died after testing positive for the virus.
But Ms Evans has warned the health board is now noting evidence of Covid spread in the wider community, and fears that if the public don’t do more to limit the spread, even more pressure could be heaped on the “already very tired” workforce fighting to save lives.
She said: “The hospital is extremely busy at the moment.
“It’s a really fragile situation, and the hospital is almost full.
“We’ve seen a rise in cases across Aberdeen in particular in the past few days, and in Aberdeenshire, and many of those cases can’t be linked to known outbreaks or events.
“What that represents is community transmission, and that can’t be controlled by incident management teams or test and protect.
“So, it’s up to us, as the community, to do something about it.”
As a result of rising Covid infections in the north-east, this week 30 planned surgeries had to be cancelled at ARI due to a lack of hospital beds and ward closures.
Ms Evans added: “We have a really important window of opportunity from this weekend.
“Now’s the time to isolate or seriously limit your contacts if you’re considering visiting other people at Christmas.
“If you’re thinking about doing something this weekend that involves a busy place, whether it’s shopping or meeting people for coffee, think twice about doing that.
“Because taking action now to limit those contacts will put you in a much better position to be able to see your family safely over the Christmas period.”
The head of health intelligence said the board believes one of the biggest drivers of community transmission is going to crowded places or meeting people.
She added: “Of course there’s a lot we can do to keep ourselves safe by wearing face coverings or washing our hands, but that’s what’s really at the heart of it particularly at this time of year.
“We know a lot of our positive cases have been from going shopping.
“When you go shopping, someone picks something up, puts it down, then you come along and pick it up and you’ve got a transmission situation, so shopping is a really big one.
“Ask yourself, do you really need to go?
“Do you need to as often as you’re going, can you do it in a different way, can you buy online?”
She explained staff are feeling anxious about the impact of people meeting over Christmas on NHS Grampian services.
Ms Evans said: “We have such high emotions at the thought that this virus could soon be under some control, we hope, but a lot of people are extremely nervous about the Christmas period.
“Things are definitely heating up now, and I fully expect that as quickly as Hogmanay we’ll start to see the impact of people’s choices over Christmas.
“It’s tough for an already very tired workforce to keep going, but keep going we will, because that’s what we’re there for.”
