Omicron ‘hubs’ set up – but not here in the North East

‘SURGE hubs’ are to be set up at eight hospitals across England in preparation for a potential wave of Omicron admissions – but none will be in the North East.

The temporary structures will be capable of housing roughly 100 patients.

Work on the hubs is expected to start as early as next week, with the central aim being to provide overflow facilities for people too ill to be discharged but needing lower levels of care.

The closest of the hubs, planned for the St James’ site in Leeds, will serve the “whole of the North East and Yorkshire” according to an NHS spokesperson.

Unlike the large-scale Nightingale Hospitals set up in 2020, the new facilities will be placed in hospital grounds, making them easier for staff to access and for equipment to be delivered.

NHS trusts have also been asked to identify areas such as gyms and education centres that can be converted to accommodate patients and more Nightingale sites could be added to create up to 4,000 “super surge” beds across the country.

The announcement of the units follows news that Sunderland’s Nightingale hospital and vaccination centre has been put on the market.

The building close to the Nissan site was originally built as a research centre for the automotive industry but was requisitioned by the NHS to serve first as a Nightingale Hospital and then as a vaccination centre.

Its transformation for medical use cost £23.5m, with more than 220,000 vaccinations administered from the site since January.

In the North East, North Tyneside has seen the biggest rise in new Covid cases with the rate jumping from 549.6 per 100,000 to 963.3 in a week.

South Tyneside followed closely with a rate of 405.6 in the week leading up to December 18 but in the week leading up to Christmas Day, it jumped to 794.7.

Newcastle also saw a big leap with a rate of 558.0 per 100,000 which crept up to 886.5 per 100,000 a week later.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid said: “We hope the Nightingale surge hubs at hospitals will not have to be used but it is absolutely right that we prepare for all scenarios and increase capacity”.