In an email issued to staff a St James’s Hospital in Leeds, Nightingale Hospitals are to return.
It shows plans for:
- A Nightingale surge hub
- On the grounds of the Millennium car park at St James’s Hospital in Leeds
- Expected to have around 100 bed capacity, to be part of 4,000 beds nationally
- And for patients who are recovering (not requiring ventilation)
- NHS England and NHS Improvement is leading the development
The correspondence says it is part of ongoing national NHS preparations for “a potential increase in people needing hospital care after becoming infected with the COVID-19 Omicron variant, we are working with NHS England and NHS Improvement to create additional space where new Nightingale beds could be used if the need arises”.
They go on to say that the additional capacity will free up space on hospital wards for those who require a higher level of medical care.
