16 coronavirus patients fighting for their lives at Chesterfield Royal Hospital

The news comes as latest figures show a total of 18 people have died at the hospital after testing positive for Covid-19.

MORE: Chesterfield Royal Hospital statements about coronavirus deaths

A spokesperson for Chesterfield Royal Hospital told the Derbyshire Times: “As of today, we are caring for 75 patients with confirmed cases of Covid-19, 16 of whom are receiving care in a high-dependency or critical care setting.

“Three general wards in the hospital are treating the remaining positive patients and we have well-prepared plans in place to escalate into additional beds for both areas.

“It’s busy, challenging and an unprecedented situation, but we are coping because we have robust processes and systems to manage this critical incident – our incident management team is available around the clock to support operational issues that arise.

“Overall we are best-placed to respond rapidly and effectively to the fast pace of change because we have exceptional staff, working incredibly hard to give high quality care, provide support to relatives and support to colleagues.

“People are working flexibly, adapting to new wards, departments and specialties and we are absolutely grateful to every member of staff in our hospital, community based services, in GP surgeries and those working from home.

“They are all contributing to this situation and it’s this teamwork that makes the difference right now.”

Angie Smithson, chief executive of Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, has praised staff for ‘working really hard in exceptional circumstances’.

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