New information reveals how many people became infected and died with Covid-19 in Edinburgh hospitals.
Edinburgh Live sent a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to NHS Lothian and asked how many people were infected with Covid-19 at Edinburgh hospitals, and also how many people died at the hospital with the coronavirus listed on their death certificate.
The FOI showed that there have been 4483 patients at at Edinburgh hospitals who tested positive for Covid-19.
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And of these, there were 2737 cases were the patient tested positive after they were admitted to hospital, and 1746 were positive before admission.
However, health experts at NHS Lothian say identifying transmission is difficult and the infections may not necessarily have been picked up at the hospital.
The FOI revealed statistics that the National Records of Scotland provided to NHS Lothian for Covid-19 fatalities in Edinburgh hospitals.
Those figures show that 757 patients died in Edinburgh hospitals, with Covid-19 listed on the death certificate.
Of these fatalities, 497 occurred at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, 201 at the Western General Hospital, 23 at Ellen’s Glen House, 15 at Findlay House, 10 at Ferryfield House, six at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital and five at Liberton Hospital.
Pat Wynne, Interim Nurse Director, NHS Lothian, said: “Due to the incubation period of the COVID virus, and that fact that some people are asymptomatic, not all infections first identified in hospital are acquired in hospital. Identifying where transmission occurred is therefore difficult, however the latest data from Public Health Scotland indicates that less than 1% of COVID-19 infections are acquired in hospital.
“We work hard to ensure that infection prevention and control measures across our sites are to the highest standard. I would ask everyone who is visiting a hospital or medical setting to help us keep the transmission of COVID-19 as low as possible. Please conduct a Lateral Flow Test before visiting and use sanitation points placed throughout our buildings.”
