THE number of people in hospital with coronavirus increased steadily towards the end of December and the start of January, and is expected to increase, hospital chiefs have warned.

Data released publicly by NHS England showed the number of confirmed coronavirus patients occupying beds at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust is at it's highest since November, during a national lockdown, and is on the rise.

Around a quarter of beds at the Royal Bolton Hospital are occupied with patients suffering from coronavirus, according to chief operating officer, Andy Ennis, with more expected to come in.

As of January 12, Bolton NHS FT had 133 positive coronavirus patients occupying beds, an increase of 50 from December 27.

The previous peak after August 1, when data became available, was 162 patients on November 12.

Up until the end of October the highest amount of positive patients the hospital had occupying beds was 65, right at the end of October.

This has coincided with an increase in patients requiring mechanical ventilation beds for coronavirus which increased from four to 10 in just over two weeks.

In November and early December as many as 19 people were being discharged from hospital per day after receiving treatment for the virus.

But in recent weeks this number has decreased, despite the number of coronavirus patients increasing.

In the first six days of 2021, 36 people in total were discharged from Bolton NHS FT after receiving treatment for coronavirus.

Mr Ennis, said there are some very unwell people with coronavirus in hospital at the moment, with this number expected to rise.

This increase in patients is also starting to affect other services, he said.

Mr Ennis, told The Bolton News: "Currently around one in four of our beds are occupied by Covid patients, some of whom are very unwell and need to remain in hospital for a period of time.

"This number is still predicted to rise and as a result, some of our services are being affected by this increase.

"We are working closely with our partners in social care, primary care and the voluntary sector as part of Bolton’s Integrated Care Partnership and managing to discharge more patients than we normally would at this time of year, helping people to get home sooner and to ensure that we have the space we need to deal with the expected increase in patients over the coming days.

"We continue to urge the public to follow the government guidance, to help minimise the spread of the virus where possible so we can care for those who need it, safely."

More than 500 patients have died of coronavirus since the start of the pandemic at the Royal Bolton Hospital.