‘Up to half’ of NSW Covid hospital patients went in for something totally different and were positive in routine testing

The PM has vowed to take action after it was revealed that hundreds “hospitalised” with Covid were not taken there because of the virus.

The Prime Minister will press premiers for a uniform definition of Covid hospitalisations — after it was revealed that hundreds of patients listed as hospitalised were not taken to hospital because of the virus at all.

The NSW Health Health Minister that many of those listed in the daily statistics are simply testing positive in routine checks after being admitted for broken bones, labour pains or even mental health issues. Queensland Health has a similar reporting process in place.

The Prime Minister, who has often said to look at rate of hospitalisation and deaths as a true indicator of the disease’s impact rather than raw case numbers, confirmed today he will be talking to premiers about the definition of a hospitalisation due to virus.

“I make the point on hospitalisation, and this is one of the things we’re going to have to discuss this week, I’m heading down to Canberra today, with the premiers is this definition of hospitalisation,” he told the Today Show.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

“There are people being counted as being in hospital for Covid. They didn‘t go there for Covid. They went there for some other reason and that’s why they were admitted, and they’ve been tested when they’re there and they’ve been found to have Covid.

“So, we need to get a standard definition on that because these are the key things we have to track now.”

As of this morning there were 1204 people with Covid in hospital in NSW, with 95 in ICU.

Brad Hazzard admitted over two days during the week, up to half of those cases were in hospital for something else entirely — raising questions about how hospitalisation figures are reported.

“A reasonable proportion of cases being classified as Covid hospitalisations are actually people with other reasons for admission,” NSW health minister Brad Hazzard said.

“Heart attacks, births, falls, none of that stops just because there is Covid. They come into hospital, they have a swab taken and it confirms Covid.

NSW Minister for Health Brad Hazzard. Picture: Richard Dobson

“This shows us its out in the community, but we aren’t necessarily seeing that as the primary reason for all of the admissions.”

The most ever recorded in NSW hospitals was 1268 on September 21.

While Mr Hazzard admitted hospitals are under increasing strain, preliminary analysis shows that Omicron so far has proved to caused a much milder illness for many people compared with previous strains.

News.com.au has reached out to other state health departments to see whether they classify Covid hospitalisations in the same way.

Queensland Health said a person is usually admitted to hospital after they have tested positive for Covid in Queensland.

“At the moment, we are only admitting patients that require clinical intervention, if the patient is generally well, they will be treated at home in a virtual ward,” a spokeswoman said.

“Of course, with current community transmission, there may be people that present to hospital with another aliment that end up also positive for Covid.

“They however, would not be recorded in our reporting of a Covid hospitalisation until they have tested positive for Covid.”

The Victorian Department of Health has not responded to requests for comment.

Meanwhile, Covid hospitalisations in NSW have doubled in the week since Christmas and are expected to rise even further as a rampant Omicron outbreak tests assurances the state’s health system can manage the surging load.

Today’s 1204 hospitalisations are up from 388 hospitalisations reported on Christmas Day. Picture: Richard Dobson

Today’s 1204 hospitalisations are up from 388 hospitalisations reported on Christmas Day and 458 on Boxing Day, while the number of people in intensive care has risen by 30 – from 52 to 82 – in that time.

Political opponents have savaged the NSW government in recent days for its handling of the Omicron surge, particularly how it is resourcing an increasingly under-pressure health system.

Premier Dominic Perrottet and Health Minister Brad Hazzard have consistently stated that the state’s health system is in a solid position despite the dramatic rise in infections and mayhem caused by an explosion in testing demands.

However, a decision to pare back isolation requirements for hospital staff has been described as a sign the system is coming under intense pressure.

NSW Health revealed on Friday that health workers classified as close contacts will be permitted to leave self-isolation in exceptional circumstances to ensure hospitals and testing clinics are not disrupted.

Staff shortages have become a big issue in parts of the state’s system, with a leaked email claiming one Sydney hospital is “extremely vulnerable”.

Australian Medical Association vice-president Chris Moy said he was getting calls from doctors and administrators who were “extremely worried” about rising Covid cases despite fewer people being hospitalised.

Case numbers are on the rise in NSW. Picture: Jenny Evans/Getty Images

He said staff were being furloughed because they are getting sick or are being deemed close contacts.

“What’s happening there is that the staffing situation is becoming pretty critical at the moment,” Dr Moy told ABC on Sunday morning.

This was “right across the board” but NSW was probably worse than other parts of the country, he said.

“I’m hearing about teams getting completely wiped out essentially because they are either contacts or they are positive,” he said.

“This is leading to a real problem and a real squeeze at the moment which is causing extreme stress on very exhausted health workforce,” the doctor explained. His comments come after the ABC reported a leaked email showed soaring Covid-19 hospitalisations left one of Sydney’s largest hospitals “extremely vulnerable”.

– with NCA NewsWire

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