Covid-19 survival rates increased in west Hertfordshire from April to August

Patients in west Hertfordshire hospitals were four times more likely to die from Covid-19 at the peak of the first wave than in August, data shows.

According to the data, there were 1,250 patients who were treated for Covid-19 at hospitals run by the West Hertfordshire Hospitals Trust, between March and August.

But the proportion of patients who survive appears to have increased as the pandemic has progressed.

In April, at the height of the peak, the hospitals treated 633 Covid-19 patients. And the data shows that 245 of those patients – that’s 39 per cent – died.

In May there were 285 patients with Covid-19 treated at the hospital, of which 64 – or 22 per cent – died.

But in August, when the hospital treated 33 patients with Covid-19, three patients – that’s nine per cent – died.

Statistically that suggests that by August patients in the hospital were four times less likely to die from Covid-19 than during the peak.

And the Trust say the ‘better outcomes’ reflect the severity of symptoms and the treatment within the hospital.

Respiratory consultant and divisional director for medicine Dr Andy Barlow said: “Our figures show that we saw the highest admission of acutely unwell patients in the first three months of the pandemic.

“We are now seeing patients with less severe symptoms of COVID and we have also developed other ways of treating the disease. This is leading to better outcomes for patients.”

The data was provided to the Local Democracy Reporter Service following a recent meeting of the West Hertfordshire Hospitals Trust board.

Meanwhile, at that board meeting (October 1) ‘Dr Foster’ data offered a further snapshot of Covid-19 mortality at the Trust, between March and the end of May.

It found that the Covid-19 mortality rate over that three month period was 35 per cent.

It suggested that one in 10 Covid-19 patients spent time in critical care – with 56 per cent of those needing critical care failing to recover.

It found that the mortality rate increased with age – with the largest proportion of patients in the 85+ age group.

And it also pointed to a higher mortality rate amongst men, with 41 per cent dying compared to 29 per cent of women.

The report also says that patients who had been receiving palliative care accounted for 32 per cent of deaths.

The report found that the age, gender and ethnicity split for in hospital deaths at the Trust was very similar when compared with the national distributions.