<
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-14/thousands-patients-caught-covid-nsw-hospitals-2023-data-shows/104448862>
'Thousands of patients caught COVID in NSW public hospitals last year and
hundreds died, fuelling concerns among infection control experts and healthcare
workers that hospitals are not taking strong enough precautions against
airborne viruses.
NSW Ministry of Health data released under freedom of information laws shows at
least 6,007 patients caught COVID in hospital in 2023 and 297 died — about 115
laboratory confirmed infections and six deaths per week, on average.
Similar figures were recorded in the first few months of 2024, with 1,729
patients catching COVID and 86 dying between January and April this year,
though their cause of death is not specified. For context, about 2,100 people
died from or with COVID in NSW in 2023, suggesting about 14 per cent of those
were patients who contracted the virus in hospital.
The data was released following an application by lawyer Peter Vogel who, for
18 months, was pointed between the Ministry of Health — which initially denied
holding "complete and accurate records" of hospital acquired COVID infections —
and the Clinical Excellence Commission, which directed Mr Vogel back to the
Ministry of Health, which eventually released the data he had sought.
The figures are only a snapshot of the pandemic's ongoing impact on hospitals,
and NSW Health would not clarify how it is collecting data on hospital acquired
COVID infections or provide more detail on deceased patients' ages and genders,
or data for previous years.
Still, experts say infection control protocols in hospitals are not good
enough, with some doctors warning widespread indifference to COVID is costing
too many lives and adding unnecessary pressure to a health system already under
strain.'
Via Violet Blue’s
Pandemic Roundup: October 17, 2024
https://www.patreon.com/posts/pandemic-roundup-114157962
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
