A TOP doctor at the city’s hospital has warned of the “terrifyingly bad” virus as wards across the county fill with sick patients.

The grim picture of Sussex’s coronavirus crisis is laid bare in the startling hospital case figures.

Nearly 1,000 people were being treated at Sussex NHS Trusts on January 5 – the latest data available on through data available on the government’s website.

Hospital coronavirus cases by NHS trust 

The figure is a near five-fold increase from the start of December, where about 200 people were being treated.

Accident and emergency consultant at the Royal Sussex County Hospital, Dr Rob Galloway, tweeted: “For those of you who believe that Covid is a hoax, I can tell you it’s not.

“It’s bad. Really, really bad.

“Not just a bit bad, but really, really terrifyingly bad.

“Please, please, please stick to the coronavirus lockdown rules and believe people who know about Covid more than just lies being spread on Facebook.

“Many front-line NHS colleagues haven’t been vaccinated yet.

“They don’t need claps. They need protection.

“Never again will I tell a patient... don’t worry it’s just a virus.”

Dr Galloway added that the vaccine program at Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals Trust had been “truly brilliant”.

As of January 5, Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust had 138 cases.

Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust had 173 cases.

Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust had 57 cases.

Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust had 66 cases.

Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust had 209 cases

East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust had 350 cases.