What's happened to the Nightingale hospitals?

[WotsitWiggle]

So in March / April we built all these pop up hospitals in conference centres for Covid patients. Most of which weren't used because deaths started to fall.

Now we hear of hospitals reaching capacity, and cases are on the rise, but no mention of these special Covid hospitals. Why not? All the equipment is there, why are they not being utilised?

Staffing... you cannot treat patients with equipment alone.

Are they sitting empty because of lack of staff?

This has been done to death, they can’t staff them.

There was never the staff for them.

They are are still available and still operational, they are not special covid hospitals, they were created for the overflow when hospitals become overwhelmed by covid cases to save granny and grandad and anyone else the indignity of dying on a camp bed as happened in several European countries, we should all pray they don’t need to be used

The Birmingham one has been in our local news this week
www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/filled-dread-plans-nightingale-hospital-19475763

@Floraflower3

There was never the staff for them.

Indeed. Just an opportunity, as has been so often the case with this pandemic, for the government to hand over hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ money (or, more accurately, debt) to their mates. The government refuses to say how these contracts were awarded and who got how much out of the £220 million cost.

The one in Exeter is operational and has patients. Was on our local news last week, didn’t say how many patients.

It’s staffing issues. DH is an intensive care Dr, numerous times over the past 9 months the intensive care at the actual hospital has been on the verge of having to close and move patients because they simply don’t have enough Dr’s/nurses to maintain safe staffing levels.

It’s a very clear ‘if you don’t have X staff the unit closes’ rules that were there long before covid. It’s not like other areas where you can run dangerously short staffed.
There’s ‘short staffed’ (which they almost always are) but then there’s ‘not enough staff’ in which case doors close, patients get ambulance transferred and whole thing shuts down!

Most staff have kids/families. Take a minute to think how many have had to call in last minute because Timmy has a temp or Katie is coughing! It’s been mental. If they can’t staff the district hospital they aren’t staffing the overflow!

They were built when Italy suggested we'd drown in cases.

Staffing is an ongoing issue

They were kept because it was blindingly obvious that.winter would bring an increase in cases.

Staffing is still an issue

Most if them are being used!

Ours is being used as a big vaccination centre.

Staffing...yet schools are expected to find hundreds of volunteers, some with a health care background to administer tests in January!

Manchester one is in operation at the moment

They are are still available and still operational
I don't think the London one is, it was dismantled months ago

It wasn't dismantled it was, like some others, left empty, on standby... winter was always going to be a problem with increased covid cases.

My brother is a hospital doctor and has been seconded to one for night shifts.

I am a registered nurse with 30 years experience. I let my registration lapse only about 18 months ago but when they put the call out for Nurses to help I signed up to the emergency covid register. No -one has ever contacted me to help, not even one phone call. I have recently applied for a vaccination role, thought they would be desperate to recruit quickly but application went in at the start of dec and still nothing/ no interview date etc. So I'll just continue with my current job which is important.

I also understood if a hospital sent a patient over, they needed to send the staff too, and they can’t because they can’t spare them.

No patients, simple as that.
Hospitals are empty, or certainly not overwhelmed.

@TragedyHands

No patients, simple as that. Hospitals are empty, or certainly not overwhelmed.

Empty ? Not at my local - ambulances are queuing to get patients admitted !

Exeter Nightingale is open and taking Covid patients

@Babyroobs I was contacted by bring back staff. I had vaccination training last week and am awaiting someone contacting me. Meanwhile I’ve done my on-line vaccination training, BLS, anaphylaxis training.
Like you I’ve done over 35 years nursing. My last nursing post I gave hundreds of vax a week. Have been retired 3 years.
Go on e-Lfh.org and get your training sorted out before they contact you.
Good luck.

The army medics. Couldn’t they staff them up? Hopefully they are ramping up re the Oxford vaccine being approved.

Please don’t fuck up the rollout of the vaccine.