The NHS was instructed to identify patients who actually became ill with Covid-19 separately from those who tested positive.

Hospitals are being told to change the collection method data About patients infected with Coronavirus This is to distinguish between people who are actually symptomatic and who have a positive reaction when seeking some other treatment.

This move reduces the total number of patients hospitalized with coronavirus, as hospital data to date included all patients who tested positive for coronavirus. COVID-19, With or without symptoms.

NHS England Instructed hospitals to change the flow of daily data sent by NHS trusts, Independent This move demonstrates the effectiveness of the vaccine program and its efforts to assist in the analysis of successful mitigation of coronavirus infections.

We haven’t promised to release the data yet, but this change could prove important to the government’s decision to end the lockdown on June 21st.

Lib Dem MP Layla Moran, chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Coronavirus, warns that the government should not use data to “massage” numbers as the June 21 decision is approaching. did.

One NHS source said the new data were “more realistic” because not all patients were infected with the virus, adding: [patients]I also had Covid as a coincidence. “

In a letter to the hospital boss on June 7th IndependentKeith Willett, Covid Incident Director of NHS England, said NHS England hopes to “classify the current inventory of Covid patients into those hospitalized with acute symptoms of Covid-19.” (Main reasons for hospitalization); And those who are hospitalized primarily for reasons other than Covid-19 (although hospitals need to manage and treat Covid-19 symptoms along with their initial condition). ..

He added: We are seeking an alternative between newly admitted patients and those newly diagnosed with the new coronavirus during hospitalization. “

During the coronavirus crisis, many hospitalized patients were infected with the virus, forced to double or triple their capacity in the intensive care unit, and the majority of patients needed oxygen.

As the virus spreads to the community, it is always more likely that some patients will be positive.

One clinician said: But if some of that young cohort is hospitalized for other reasons, the story is quite different. This change gives us a better view of this. “

NHS England data on hospitalization will be published daily at the regional level and a few days later on the government dashboard. Internal daily dashboards of Covid data track infections throughout the hospital, but are not publicly available.

Professor Ian Douglas of the London School of Economics and Tropical Medicine said, “I think there is a good debate about presenting these data separately. To the virus. But not completely, People hospitalized in Covid probably need additional treatment to avoid further spread of the infection, which puts an extra burden on the hospital.

“At this point, we don’t know what the split looks like. The important thing is that we don’t know the trends going back in time. You may not have enough time to see in which direction the “coronavirus” numbers are heading. What we shouldn’t do is make a guess that the numbers will go down after the “Coronavirus Infection” numbers have been removed. “

Layla Moran said Independent“If this provides a more accurate picture of Covid’s impact on our hospital, it should be welcomed, but as we approach June 21, the government will use it as a way to massage the numbers. It should be noted that.

“It’s also important for ministers to start counting patients with coronavirus infections, not just hospitalizations and deaths. The latest estimates show that more than one million people in the UK have coronavirus infections. Suffering. The government must stop ignoring these hidden victims of pandemics. “

A spokeswoman for the NHS England said, “During the pandemic, the NHS has released daily, weekly, and monthly updates on the activities of Covid Hospital. Along with the success and impact of the vaccine program, Covid cases in the hospital Continue to monitor. ”

They added that the data was used for planning and operational reasons and should be checked and validated before publication.