From Ann Wills

 Daily Mail 30.12.21  “TELL US THE TRUE SCALE OF WARD CASES, SAY TORIES” by Martin Beckford.

A row erupted over the Government’s Covid figures on 29 Dec. as it emerged that almost 1 in 3 patients in hospital with Covid was admitted for unrelated reasons.

These cases are people taken to hospital for an unrelated reason, such as a fall or broken bone, who just happen to then discover they also have the virus.  It means 1,000s of those who are being counted as Covid admissions - which would suggest they are severely ill with the virus - are not actually suffering seriously with Covid. 

Many only tested positive once they were on hospital wards - & many have simply caught the virus while in hospital.  It has raised concerns that headline statistics of Covid admissions rising to a record 29% may be misleading.  There are concerns that these statistics are overestimating how many people are dangerously ill with Covid.  Last night former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said  “It’s almost certain the admissions for Covid are far lower than the figures suggest.”  He called for the independent “Office for National Statistics” to publish the figures for true Covid admissions, rather than the NHS giving them. 

Ann