Makeshift field hospital sites being investigated
Makeshift field hospitals are set to be built in Scotland to handle an expected rise in coronavirus cases, with “detailed discussions” already underway on potential sites, it has emerged.
Officers from the Royal Engineers have reportedly confirmed the SEC Glasgow is being assessed as a possible site for a temporary hospital. Plans are being drawn up for the facility to be run by the NHS.
Chief Medical Officer Catherine Calderwood has also played down suggestions that Scotland is coping better than south of the Border with the virus, insisting the lower levels are likely to be down to a time lag.
There have been more than 700 cases in Scotland and Dr Calderwood said this would keep rising in the short term before the impact of the lockdown was seen.
In London, the Excel centre has been set up as a makeshift hospital with 4,000 beds to be available, while the NEC in Birmingham is also reportedly being considered for a major “field” hospital. Asked is something similar is being planned in Scotland, Dr Calderwood told BBC Radio Scotland yesterday: “We are, absolutely.
“We have had quite detailed discussions very recently and I know that there are sites being considered in Scotland this week.”
The chief medic warned people could be ill for two to three weeks before being hospitalised.
She said: “I’m worried that these low deaths are actually just because we haven’t had the virus in Scotland for as long as they’ve had it in England.”