The NHS Nightingale Hospital North East was one of the temporary NHS Nightingale Hospitals set up by NHS England to help to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. It was constructed inside the Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Advanced Manufacturing, Washington.
| NHS Nightingale Hospital North East | |
|---|---|
| Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | |
 | |
 | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Advanced Manufacturing, Washington, Tyne and Wear |
| Coordinates | 54°55′26″N 1°28′42″W / 54.92396°N 1.47837°W |
| Organisation | |
| Care system | NHS England |
| Type | COVID-19 critical care Field hospital |
| Services | |
| Beds |
|
| History | |
| Opened | 5 May 2020 |
| Closed | 31 March 2022 |
| Links | |
| Website | coronavirus |
Background
editTo add extra critical care capacity during the COVID-19 epidemic in England, and to treat those with COVID-19, plans were made to create further temporary hospital spaces for those in need of treatment and care.[1][2] They have been named "Nightingale Hospitals", after Florence Nightingale who came to prominence for nursing soldiers during the Crimean War and is regarded as the founder of modern nursing.[3]
On 12 October, 2020 amidst a rise in cases in Northern England, the hospital was placed on standby.[4]
Details
editThe site was converted to be a hospital at the cost of £23.5 million.[5] The site had 460 beds available with the building divided into 16 wards.[6] It was operated by Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.[7] The hospital has been prepared by the British Armed forces working with the local NHS Trusts.[8] County Durham MP Richard Holden said, when announcing the hospital on 10 April, that it was expected to be open for patients in the following two weeks.[7]
The hospital was officially opened on 5 May 2020, in a virtual ceremony, by Matt Hancock (Secretary of State for Health). The opening ceremony also featured television celebrities Ant and Dec, football pundit Alan Shearer and cricketer Ben Stokes.[9]
It was not a conventional walk-in hospital - only patients who are already inpatients in other hospitals in the region and meet certain criteria were to be admitted.[10] They would have stayed at the hospital until they were assessed as being ready to move back to a local hospital.[10]
The hospital was kept on standby to treat Covid patients but did not admit a single patient.[11][12] On 12 October 2020 amidst a rise in cases in Northern England, the hospital was placed on readiness to receive patients, but again did not.[13]
In January 2021 NHS England admitted that it would not be admitting any patients into the specially created hospital.[14] Later the same month it was announced that the hospital was to become instead a mass vaccination centre.[14]
On 31 March 2022 the hospital was closed for the final time.[15]
Transportation
editOn 25 January 2021, Go North East introduced a bus route branded ConnectorShuttle which operated between Concord bus station and the Nightingale Hospital. The service connected with bus route 56 at the bus station.[16]
References
edit- ^ Sabbagh, Dan (16 March 2020). "Army likely to embed medics in NHS hospitals to help fight coronavirus". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
- ^ Schraer, Rachel (24 March 2020). "ExCeL Centre to be used as coronavirus hospital". BBC News. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
- ^ "Coronavirus: Nightingale Hospital opens at London's ExCel centre". BBC News. 3 April 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
- ^ Sparrow, Andrew (12 October 2020). "UK coronavirus live: Nightingale hospitals in Manchester, Sunderland and Harrogate on standby to take patients". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
- ^ "Sunderland's £23.5m Nightingale Hospital closes". BBC News. 31 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ "Birmingham Nightingale hospital 'operational'". BBC News. 10 April 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
- ^ a b Lindsay, Kali (10 April 2020). "14 pictures of the new Nightingale hospital due to open in the North East". nechronicle. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
- ^ "This is when new 460-bed Nightingale Hospital North East will open near Nissan plant". Shields Gazette. 10 April 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
- ^ "Coronavirus: Nightingale hospital opens in Sunderland". BBC News. 5 May 2020.
- ^ a b "NHS Nightingale North East". NHS Newcastle Hospitals. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
- ^ Sunderland's Nightingale Hospital will be used 'only as a last resort' in second Covid wave 7 September 2020 www.chroniclelive.co.uk, accessed 14 October 2020
- ^ What has happened to England's seven Nightingale hospitals? 8 October 2020 www.theguardian.com, accessed 14 October 2020
- ^ Sparrow, Andrew (12 October 2020). "UK coronavirus live: Nightingale hospitals in Manchester, Sunderland and Harrogate on standby to take patients". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
- ^ a b Edgar, Bill (24 January 2021). "Nightingale Hospital to open as Covid-19 mass vaccination centre". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
- ^ Ford, Helen (30 March 2022). "North East landmark of the pandemic closes its doors for good". ITV News. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ "Go North East launches one of the UK's first dedicated vaccination shuttle bus services". Bdaily Business News. 25 January 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.