MORE than 4,000 covid-19 patients have been cared for by doctors and nurses at the South Tees NHS Hospitals Foundation Trust since the beginning of the pandemic early last year.

The figure was revealed in a recent update by the trust’s chief executive Sue Page to board members.

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The trust, which operates Middlesbrough’s James Cook University Hospital and The Friarage in Northallerton, said there had been a “steady increase” in community infection rates recently.

But despite this the number of patients receiving hospital care because of the effects of the virus had remained relatively static – between 59 and 79 at any one time in the past several weeks.

The chief executive’s update said that the “majority of patients requiring covid-19 hospital treatment have received one or no vaccine dose”.

She added: “Pressures remain as our dedicated clinicians continue to treat covid patients and those without covid, whose needs are equally urgent, whilst working to address the needs of anybody whose non-urgent care has been disrupted during the pandemic.”

The trust’s own covid-19 booster vaccination programme is being rolled out at the moment.

The programme will focus on providing jabs for staff six months after the date they received their second dose.

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