Hundreds of patients have recovered from Covid-19 and been discharged, a hospital trust has said.

The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Barnet Hospital and the Royal Free in Hampstead, says since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, 517 Covid-19 patients have left its hospitals and returned home.

These figures are as of April 22, with the Royal Free adding that 132 patients returned home between April 13 and 19.

Deborah Sanders, chief executive of Barnet Hospital, and Royal Free London group chief nursing officer, said: "We’re absolutely delighted to see so many of our patients, many of whom have been extremely poorly, go back to their homes and their families.

"I’d also like to thank our staff for their incredible work during these difficult times."

Staff working on a care of the elderly ward at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead are celebrating every time a patient is discharged by pinning a butterfly to a mural of a dementia care tree painted on a wall of the department. And the tree is rapidly filling up.

Borehamwood Times:

Chito Gabutin, ward manager, said: "Our elderly patients, many of whom have had Covid-19, are still fighting, still recovering and they are still going home.

"This wall of butterflies has really caught people’s attention. No-one wants to be in hospital and it’s the best feeling when you get to go home.

"I think that this really captures that feeling and at this time especially it feels like an incredibly hopeful message."