HOSPITALS

Intensive care beds in Kent have tripled to help hospitals cope with a surge of patients due to come in the coming weeks. Operating theatres have been converted into temporary critical care wards as hospitals cancel non-urgent surgery, clear beds and recruit help from the private sector to increase capacity.

Health chiefs are also considering a range of places in Kent which could host temporary field hospitals but no sites have been confirmed publicly. It comes as the government announced it will be creating two extra dedicated hospitals for Covid-19 patients following the announcement the Excel in east London would be converted into the NHS Nightingale Hospital with 4,000 beds.

The NEC in Birmingham will have 5,000 beds with a further 1,000 at the Manchester Central Conference Centre. Hospitals in Kent have been working to discharge “medimedically fit pa atients” faster than in usual circ cumstances and preparing comm munity teams to give th hem care in their own n homes. It is hop ped 30% of all hospita al beds will be cleare ed to allow sites to copec with the adde d number of patient ts expected to come th hrough the doors with h coronavirus. Stroke s ervices have also seen n a reshuffle this week.

Kent and Canterbury Hospital will being taking on patients under East Kent Hospitals and the rehabilitation inpatients at Maidstone Hospital will move to the KIMS private hospital. From mid-april cancer surgery will be carried out at the Kent and Canterbury or at local private hospitals at no cost. Outpatient appointments are being carried out over the phone, video or online. Between 60 and

80% are already being done remotely.

GP surgeries are also reducing the number of walk-in patients by going online, allowing doctors, nurses and patients to work from home. New software is being rolled out to help with this.

Groups of GP surgeries are splittingsplitting into coroncoronavirus and non-coronavirus sites. s Practices within these groups will work together to t cover staff shortages.

There are e also plans for work in the community includ ing a testing service an nd support service.

And final lly, a central warehouse e and distribution mo odel for personal prote ective equipment is bein ng created to make sure fr rontline staff are being g protected. Wi ilf Williams, accountable officer at NHS Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) – the new body responsible for planning and buying NHS services across the county which came into force yesterday (Wednesday) – said the NHS in Kent is working “as one” to treat Covid- 19.

But he ruled out plans to create a single super hospital to only treat patients with coronavirus.

He said: “At this point we are not planning for Medway Maritime Hospital, or any other hospital, to become solely focused on Covid- 19 patients. “We are freeing up beds across all our hospitals, bringing in more staff and ventilators, getting protective equipment to where it is needed and increasing testing. “Everyone is focused on helping those on the frontline to deliver the best possible patient care and save lives.” Mr Williams said the additional critical care beds were in place by the end of last week.

Wilf Williams