NIGHTINGALE HOSPITAL MADE ‘WINTER READY’
BRISTOL’S pop-up coronavirus hospital will emerge from hibernation to get combat-ready for winter.
NHS Nightingale Bristol was constructed in a matter of weeks inside the Exhibition and Conference Centre, at the University of the West of England’s Frenchay campus.
It opened in April to provide capacity for 300 extra intensive care beds, but never had to be used, and was demoted to ‘standby’ status in June.
Earlier in September, a Nightingale spokesperson said the hospital would stay on standby despite a rise in cases.
However, the university (UWE) has now revealed it is getting “winter ready”, as fears of a second wave and strain on the NHS grow.
A statement released by the university said: “After going into standby mode at the end of June, the Bristol Nightingale hospital is now being set up as ‘winter ready.’
“Initially the lecture theatre in the hospital is to be used for storage so that equipment and stores can be safely moved inside from the temporary marquees outside the hospital as we head into autumn.”
Vice-chancellor Steve West added: “Although we hoped it would never be required, the fact that we have been host to such an important part of the UK’s fight against Covid-19 is a source of great pride to our staff and students.
“The NHS have our full support for this next phase, and we will continue to work very closely with NHS colleagues across the region to determine how the facility will change and adapt for any future use.”
Members of the public are invited to virtually sit in on a panel discussion on Wednesday, October 14, which will discuss how the Nightingale helped to respond to the first wave of the pandemic.
Prof West will be joined by Marie-Noelle Orzel, chief officer at NHS Nightingale Bristol, chief medical officer Tim Whittlestone, and construction company Kier’s operations director David Snell.
The panel discussion will take place from 6.30pm.
A huge team of construction workers, university staff, NHS and Army personnel helped to transform the conference centre in just 20 days.
Bristol was one of several locations where Nightingale hospitals were set up, although most were not used.
North Bristol NHS Trust was in charge of running the facility.
In July, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced £3bn to help the NHS prepare for a winter spike of coronavirus cases.
A chunk of the money would be used to maintain the temporary Nightingale hospitals until the end of March 2021, he said.