Staff build a ‘hospital within a hospital’ by splitting Ninewells

Health chiefs in Tayside say they will build a “hospital within a hospital” to protect vital services from Covid-19.

Ninewells Hospital in Dundee will be split down the middle, with one side dedicated to patients carrying the virus and the other used to continue essential care away from the outbreak.

Professor Colin Fleming, operational medical director at NHS Tayside, described the level of work being carried out on the project as “astonishing”.

He said: “What we really need to do with Covid-19 is build a hospital within a hospital and I’m pleased to say that by this time next week we will have done that, we will have built a Covid-19 hospital within Ninewells.

“We are incredibly lucky because our structure naturally in the hospital

“We’ve built a 280-bed hospital overnight... It’s absolutely astonishing. PROF COLIN FLEMING

divides into an east wing and a west wing, and what we’ll be doing on the west wing is all our normal business as usual.”

Health bosses plan to dedicate the east side of Ninewells to treating Covid-19 patients, with nearly 300 beds set to be made available to individuals with the virus.

Training will also be provided for medical staff who may be asked to take on new roles and responsibilities.

Professor Fleming said: “The Chinese were lauded, they were praised, for building a 1,000-bed hospital in a week for an enormous population.

“For our population in Tayside, we’ve built a 280-bed hospital almost overnight. We will have created this within days.

“It’s absolutely astonishing what the staff of this organisation have done.”