Covid: Nightingale “surge hubs” put in place as NHS puts itself on “war footing” to deal with Omicron wave

The NHS is bracing for a potential wave of hospital admissions from Covid Omicron wave, setting up new Nightingale ‘surge centers’ in hospitals across England.

It comes as a health boss has said the NHS is preparing to be on ‘war footing’.

Work on eight hubs, each with a capacity of around 100 patients, is expected to begin as early as this week, while other sites could be identified to add 4,000 additional “supersurge” beds at a later date.

Hospitals are already forced to use hotels, hospices and nursing homes to safely offload as many medically fit people to leave as possible – freeing up beds for those who need them most.

Coronavirus: what you need to know

On Wednesday, the government again repeated its message to people to get their booster injection to protect against the variant. Prime Minister warned up to 90% of coronavirus patients in intensive care did not have Booster vaccine against Covid-19.

Where will the Nightingale surge concentrators be installed?The installations will be installed at:

• Royal Preston Hospital

• St James University Hospital in Leeds

• Lister Hospital in Stevenage

• St George’s Hospital, London

• William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, Kent

• Bristol North Hospital

• Solihull Hospital, Birmingham University Hospitals

• Leicester University Hospitals.

How will Nightingale surge concentrators work?

Nightingale’s new facility – managed by a mix of hospital consultants, nurses, and other clinical and non-clinical staff – are designed to accommodate patients who, while unfit to discharge, need a minimal support and supervision as they recover from illness.

The NHS Trusts were also tasked with identifying places, such as gymnasiums and education centers as well as other venues, that could be converted to accommodate up to 4,000 ‘super surges’, or about four times the number of a typical large district hospital.

The government insisted that the Nightingale hospitals built during the first wave of Covid in March 2020 were successful in the pandemic – but at the time they were criticized for being empty and not having enough staff.

What other steps is the NHS taking to prepare for a potential wave?

A national NHS deal with Hospice UK will also see up to 4,800 people per day who need continuous monitoring, but do not need to be in hospital, will receive support in a hospice bed or through the Hospice @ Home teams.

The NHS is also stepping up use of virtual services, where patients benefit from monitoring technology and regular check-ins with clinicians.

General practitioners also have access to up to 250,000 pulse oximeters – devices that can read blood oxygen levels by scanning the fingertip – so patients positive for Covid-19 can monitor their own levels. oxygen in the blood at home by ensuring that only those who need it are admitted to the hospital.

What has been said about the new hubs?

NHS National Medical Director Professor Stephen Powis said: “With the high level of Covid-19 infections and the increase in hospital admissions, the NHS is now on a war footing.

“We don’t yet know exactly how many of those who catch the virus will need hospital treatment, but given the number of infections we are anxious to find out before we act and so labor starts from there. today to ensure that these facilities are in place.

“We were hoping that we would never have to use the original Nightingales and I hope we never have to use these new hubs.”

Secretary of State for Health and Social Affairs Sajid Javid said the hubs were a back-up plan.

“We are hoping that Nightingale surge centers in hospitals do not have to be used, but it is only fair that we prepare for all scenarios and increase capacity,” he said.

Chris Hopson, Managing Director of NHS Providers – the organization of members of the NHS Trusts in England, said: ‘Building on lessons learned from the start of the pandemic, the trusts are identifying additional capacity at existing hospital sites which could be transformed into a surge capacity if required.

“Trusted leaders hope this back-up insurance policy will never be needed, like with the original Nightingales. But it must be the right “no regrets later” decision to make those preparations now.

“Given the other pressures on the NHS and the current level of staff absences, staffing this capacity would be a major challenge. But co-location at existing hospital sites maximizes the ability of the NHS to meet this challenge.

“We also have to recognize that this will add even more stretch to an already beleaguered NHS.”

What is the Covid situation in the UK?

The move comes as the UK again hit a record number of daily reported Covid cases on Wednesday, as 183,037 new cases of coronavirus have been recorded.

The total includes figures reported for Northern Ireland spanning a five-day period, which although inflated the figure would still have been a record, with England and Scotland seeing record numbers of cases within 24 hours to 9 am Wednesday.