Eight Nightingale Hospital Hubs Planned

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06 January 2022

Temporary hubs at hospitals across the country are being set up to help with potential admissions surges due to the omicron variant.

These structures are able to accommodate around 100 patients each, and will help to “flex staff and equipment if there is a surge in admissions”, providing access to diagnostics and emergency care if required.

The new facilities would take patients who, although not fit for discharge, need minimal support and monitoring while they recover from illness, freeing up regular ward beds to provide care for those with more intensive needs. Patients may include those recovering from COVID-19 who are no longer infectious and do not need intensive oxygen therapy.

NHS trusts have also been asked to identify areas such as gyms and education centres that can be converted to accommodate patients and more Nightingale sites could be added to create up to 4,000 “super surge” beds across the country.  Local leaders have also been told to consider using hotels and care hubs in care homes to provide places for people to recover before going home, rather than in hospital wards.

According to an NHS statement on 30 December 2021, the first eight of the Nightingale surge hubs will be at the following hospitals:

1. North West – Royal Preston
2. North East and Yorkshire – Leeds, St James’ site
3. Midlands – Solihull Hospital and Leicester General Hospital
4. East of England – Lister Hospital, Stevenage
5. London – St George’s
6. South East – William Harvey Hospital, Ashford
7. South West – North Bristol

What Happened to the Original Nightingale Hospitals?

The original Nightingale hospitals are seven new facilities established in 2020 to cope with a potential surge in COVID-19 cases.

The NHS said that the hospitals would close in April 2021, and described them as the "ultimate insurance policy", amidst criticism that the hospitals were not used. The 4,000 bed Nightingale Hospital at London’s ExCeL centre reportedly only treated 54 patients in the first wave of COVID-19.

With regards to the new Nightingale hubs, if hospitals need to use new beds after exhausting every other option, equipment previously used for the original Nightingale hospitals will be distributed to them.

Latest COVID-19 Hospital Admission Data

2,258 people with COVID-19 went into hospital on 28 December 2021.

Between 22 December 2021 and 28 December 2021, 11,005 went into hospital with COVID-19, an  increase of 58.5 per cent compared to the previous 7 days.

There were 17,276 patients in hospital with coronavirus on 4 January 2022, and 911 coronavirus patients in hospital beds with a mechanical ventilator on 4 January 2022.

Picture: a photograph of a person wearing a white coat and holding a stethoscope. People can b e seen in the background.

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 06 January 2022

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