Any patients in the new Nightingale Hospital?

[coronade]

Just had a google but couldn’t find anything.
Wondered if they had released any info on whether patients had been admitted to the new hospital and if so how many?

[NeverGuessWho]

Bump.

[GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat]

No the opening has been put back as it’s not needed yet.

[coronade]

Thanks. I thought it opened last week .

[NeverGuessWho]

@coronade

There was an opening ceremony of sorts, but that doesn’t mean they have to send patients there before those beds are required, iyswim. 😊

[NemophilistRebel]

Good news if no patients needed to go there yet I guess

[GetOffYourHighHorse]

You can guarantee if it isn't used the Government will be criticised massively for a waste of money. Despite all the horror stories we've seen the last few weeks about Italy and Spain's health service being overwhelmed.

[ToTheVetsWeGo]

Good news that it is not needed yet

[SomethingOnce]

You can guarantee if it isn't used the Government will be criticised massively for a waste of money.

In that marvellous eventuality, people are going to have to grow the fuck up and be glad we wasted money on something we might’ve needed but didn’t.

[GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat]

The number of deaths reported today has dropped by a good amount which seems amazing and pretty awesome if it continues.

[feelingverylazytoday]

I did hear a suggestion that it might not be needed, which would be absolutely fantastic. But it's better to prepare for the worst case scenario.

[gingajewel]

@SomethingOnce agree totally

[Marypoppins19]

I don’t understand why they don’t move nice patients across to the nightingale and then make the other London’s hospitals after for cancer surgery?

[terrigrey]

I don't understand why people who are struggling to breathe are not being treated (eg not accepted at hospital) until they are literally suffocating?
We have spare beds in hospitals and are not at capacity.
This seems to be one of the main reasons Germany has such a low death rate compared to us.
Merkal is a hero, I wish we had a leader like her.

[Marypoppins19]

Sorry positive not nice!

[Marypoppins19]

Terrigrey - absolutely agree

[daisypond]

I don’t understand why they don’t move nice patients across to the nightingale
Staffing. And equipment. Beds are the least of the matter. People have beds at home, so they might as well stay there. Staffing and equipment cannot be magicked up.

[soshesaid]

The London Nightingale was set up to take ventilated patients with single organ failure only (lungs). It's only taken about 20-30 patients so far.

London has been able to quadruple its existing ITU capacity without The Nightingale (redeploying staff/using recovery and theatre areas etc). Plus it turns out their aren't many patients that fit the criteria for The Nightingale/they don't actually want to transfer them as they are coping fine.

A more useful field hospital might be a rehab/recuperating type and I think this is what the set up might be at the NEC etc. But that's less 'glamorous' than a fancy ITU like the London one .

Anyway, it's a good thing that we overshot capacity and there's currently plenty of beds. The tricky bit will be trying to start up more normal NHS activity again.

[JustVisiting9]

Remember that, in a few weeks, we will have to start lifting lockdown measures as we cannot carry on like this for ever. The lockdown is to make sure we don't exceed NHS capacity.

Lockdown is a two pronged attack; Protect existing NHS capacity by limiting transmission, while buying time for the NHS to scale up through these Nightingale Hospitals (and similar in the other Nations of the United Kingdom). I think these beds will be used as we start to lift some of the restrictions we are currently subject to.

Also, we'll be living with COVID for a while yet, and the NHS will have to try to re-start some of the postponed operations and treatments. These Nightingale hospitals, along with use of the private hospitals, will allow them to do so whilst continuing to be able to deal with COVID patients.

[BlueEyedPersephone]

Maybe the people infected in care homes could be moved there to protect the COVID free other residents and so they get the best chance of survival ........

[cakeisalwaystheanswer]

This will be the best money ever wasted if those beds are never needed. Similarly, there is now a school of thinking in the medical world that ventilators may do more harm than good.

Very little is known about this disease. The chinese have lied so much that no information they have given can be relied on. Who knows what they are hiding now and is coming our way in a few months time?