The NHS hospitals that have suffered the most Covid-19 deaths since the pandemic began

One major NHS trust has suffered more than 2,500 coronavirus deaths since the pandemic began, according to shocking data that lay bare the toll the disease has had on hospitals.

NHS England figures show University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, which runs two hospitals, has recorded 2,578 fatalities since last March. It is followed by Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust (2,353). 

The trusts, which are two of the largest in England, account for around 4 per cent of all Covid deaths in the UK. They are the only health providers to endure more than 2,000 victims.

The Birmingham trust serves 2.2million patients each year and includes Birmingham Heartlands Hospital and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham. The Essex trust covers approximately 1.2million people and is made up of Southend University Hospital, Broomfield Hospital and Basildon University Hospital.  

A further 20 trusts recorded over 1,000 deaths, including Barts Health and Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals in London. 

Separate figures released today showed most of England recorded at least one day with no Covid deaths over the past week – the first time this has happened in six months. Five out of nine regions were free of fatalities for a minimum 24 hours while London averaged 1.5 deaths daily over the week.

Official figures show there were no virus deaths in the South East, West Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber or the East of England on Wednesday. The South West has reported no daily deaths three times in the past week.

10 NHS Foundation Trusts rusts across England recorded a total of 17,136 Covid deaths since last March. The hardest hit include University Hospitals Birmingham and Mid and South Essex

Just 10 foundation trusts in England recorded nearly 20 per cent of all deaths in hospitals in England, NHS data shows. A further 14 people died with coronavirus on Tuesday (top), new infections dropped to 5,605 and a further 325,650 received their first dose of a vaccine

University Hospitals of Derby and Burton has also suffered a four-figure death toll.

Death counts in the remaining 190 trusts varied, with 102 recording between 100 and 1,000 fatalities. Another 30 recorded single-digit deaths. 

Over 17,000 deaths took place at the 10 worst-hit trusts, which include Pennine Acute Hospitals and Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trusts.

Of the 126,000 coronavirus deaths that have been recorded across the UK since the pandemic began, 85,000 have been in hospitals in England. 

The highest number of Covid fatalities recorded during the first peak last spring was 1,073 deaths on April 8. 

This number was topped on January 19 — the darkest day of the second wave, when deaths hit 1,359.

Deaths in the UK have been falling since the end of January, thanks to vaccines and tough lockdown restrictions.

It comes after analysis by the Daily Mail found most of England recorded at least one day with no coronavirus deaths over the past week – the first time this has happened in six months. 

Deaths across the country fell to a five-month low this week, with a daily average below 80 – compared to more than 1,000 for most of January.

Figures show Yorkshire and the Humber recorded no daily deaths on Wednesday – the first time since September 8, over 28 weeks ago.

On the same day, the South East, which was once ravaged by the deadly Kent variant, recorded zero deaths for the first time since September 22. 

They were joined by the West Midlands and the East of England with no fatalities. 

But when the figures were broken down by age they showed cases were only ticking up among those aged five to 19, but were still falling across all other age groups. They fell fastest in the over-70s who are least at risk from the virus

The positivity rate from cases has stabilised in all regions of England, but experts say this is because of additional testing

Coronavirus cases are dropping in all age groups other than children and teenagers in the United Kingdom since schools reopened in England on March 8, dismissing fears cases would balloon in the wider population once children returned to classrooms

Covid cases fell by six per cent to 37,000 as infections dropped for the tenth week in a row, NHS Test and Trace data has shown

There were three days in the last week in which the South West recorded no deaths, with 11 registered in total.

Meanwhile, London – the epicentre of the second wave of Covid – had just one death on both Tuesday and Wednesday, with 11 across the whole week. 

Separate figures yesterday showed coronavirus outbreaks grew in a third of local authorities in England last week — but the rise was only driven by a huge testing blitz of schoolchildren because of classrooms being reopened. 

Fifty-six of 149 council areas saw an uptick in cases over the week to March 21, according to the latest surveillance report from Public Health England.

But when the figures were broken down by age, they showed infections only spiked week-on-week among five to nine-year-olds, by more than half, and 10 to 19-year-olds, by a quarter.

Cases dropped in all other age groups, and are now at their lowest levels since August in the over-70s — who are most at risk from the virus. Everyone in the group has been offered at least one dose of the Covid vaccine.

Under Boris Johnson’s ultra-cautious lockdown-easing plan, schools were reopened to all pupils on March 8. But children and teachers have been asked to swab themselves for the virus twice a week, prompting an inevitable uptick in cases.

Experts say this doubling in the number of tests done daily – to around 1.1million every 24 hours – is behind the rise in infection rates, adding that had these tests not been carried out many of these infections would have gone unreported.

Dr Yvonne Doyle, PHE’s medical director, warned cases appeared to have ‘plateaued’ in most parts of the country, and were rising in younger age groups. She added: ‘We must not drop our guard now after so much effort by so many. We need only look to Europe to see how easy it is for things to take a turn for the worse.’