Coronavirus outbreak confirmed at Pinderfields Hospital

The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, who run the hospital, said that two patients and four staff have tested positive for Covid-19 on one of the wards.

A review of the circumstances of the outbreak is now underway, and all inpatients and staff on the ward are being tested, and anyone who has had contact with those who have tested positive will be required to isolate for 14 days.

The ward has been temporarily closed to new admissions, but patients with booked appointments or procedures in the hospital should still attend as planned.

A spokesperson for the Trust said: "We appreciate patients and their families may be concerned. We would like to reassure our community that we have a range of measures in place to ensure the safety of those coming to our sites, including appropriate PPE for staff, hand hygiene stations and the wearing of masks on hospital sites, one-way systems and social distancing

"We also, as a matter of routine, undertake testing for Covid-19 as a part of our admission process, with a follow up test on day 7 of admission for any patient who tests negative on admission. If any patient is suspected of having Covid or tests positive, they are kept separate from other patients and we have strict infection cleaning processes in place.

"As such we can confirm that all other areas of the Trust are currently operating as they were previously, and patients should feel able to attend already booked appointments or procedures as planned."

Earlier this month, the Trust confirmed that coronavirus admissions at the hospital had fallen to below one a day.

All coronavirus treatment at the Trust, which also runs Dewsbury and Pontefract Hospitals, has been centralised at Pinderfields Hospital since March.

UPDATE. FRIDAY, JULY 31: Another nine cases have been confirmed as part of the outbreak. See more here.