Football clubs and county cricket grounds to become field hospitals
FOOTBALL and cricket grounds may be considered as sites for makeshift field hospitals under plans to help alleviate pressure from the NHS.
A host of Premier League clubs outside London and potentially even Wembley would be willing to help if needed,
The Daily Telegraph understands. The Government has yet to formally approach governing bodies over the proposals, but sources within football recognise that several inner-city stadiums could be ideally positioned to help.
Meanwhile, a number of top class county cricket clubs are in conversations on how their cricket pitches can be used as field hospitals while the sport is in lockdown. Tim Bostock, chief executive of Durham Country Cricket Club, said he had offered the club’s facilities, which he estimated would fit up to 700 hospital beds.
It comes as the Ministry of Defence confirmed that military planners had visited the Excel Centre, which could hold around 4,000 beds, in London’s docklands to assess the its suitability as a hospital. The Daily Telegraph understands that the Queen Elizabeth Centre in Westminster is another site considered as a potential field hospital due to the fact it is “simple to convert, centrally located and easy to protect”.
Sir Simon Stevens, chief executive of the NHS, said that as well as increasing capacity across the NHS, “we’re getting on with other options, too”. He said this included “new facilities as well as a landmark deal with private hospitals which has put 20,000 staff, 8,000 beds and 1,200 ventilators at our disposal”.
Meanwhile, 150 personnel across the Army, Royal Navy and RAF yesterday began training to drive oxygen tankers for the NHS, while 50 military personnel started delivering Personal Protective Equipment. This will increase to more than 460 personnel.
No 10 yesterday said it was “working urgently” to develop further measures to support airlines, as the industry looked like the next sector to be taken into Government hands.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said a number of measures were available, including “time to pay”, financial support for employees and loan schemes.