Looking back: Extraordinary effort to build a Nightingale hospital in Harrogate

Last updated Dec 26, 2020

As 2020 draws to a close, over the coming days the Stray Ferret will look at the news stories that stood out among a year of extraordinary events.

Today, we reflect on the story of Harrogate’s Nightingale hospital.

Harrogate found itself in the headlines when its convention centre was commandeered by the NHS to create one of the seven national Nightingale hospitals across the UK.

On March 30 – one week after the first national lockdown began – the armed forces arrived in town to begin the process of constructing a field hospital in the events venue.

Over the following days, huge volumes of materials arrived, from scaffolding to hospital equipment, with ambulances seen pulling into the car park and officials given tours of the site.

Only on April 2 did NHS England confirm the plans, revealing the Harrogate Nightingale would offer 500 beds for covid patients.

Sir Simon Stevens, NHS chief executive, said it was “nothing short of extraordinary” that the new hospital in London had been set up in less than a fortnight, with support from the Ministry of Defence.

“The NHS, working with the military, has done in a matter of days what usually takes years. Now we are gearing up to repeat that feat at another four sites across the country to add to the surge capacity in current NHS hospitals.

“We’re giving the go ahead to these additional sites, hoping they may not be needed but preparing in case they are. But that will partly depend on continuing public support for measures to reduce growth in the infection rate by staying at home to save lives.”

During construction, the Nightingale became the focal point for public tributes to NHS staff as part of the weekly Clap for Carers.

NHS Nightingale Hospital Yorkshire and the Humber, Harrogate.

Work continued for three weeks before the hospital was officially opened on April 21 by Captain Tom Moore, via a video link.

On the eve of the opening, two videos were produced thanking those who had helped in its construction. The first was created by Harrogate Convention Centre and Cause UK, while the second was made by hotelier Simon Cotton and actor Neil Granger.

No covid patients

After the hospital was opened, the district waited to see when the first patients would be admitted.

However, eight months on, the hospital is yet to treat a covid patient, instead being used to offer CT scans through Harrogate District Hospital. It was confirmed in May that the NHS was not paying rent for use of the site, which is run by Harrogate Borough Council.

The agreement to use the site was initially for three months to the end of June, before being extended for another month.

As lockdown restrictions eased, hospitality and events businesses called for a decision to be made so they knew whether the venue would be able to host any of its usual conferences in 2020.

Negotiations continued and rumours cicrulated until, finally, the NHS confirmed on August 17 that the hospital would remain in situ until next March. A break clause at the end of October was not activated.

It then emerged that the NHS was paying £126,000 per month to HBC in utilities, and that the total set-up costs for the hospital were £27.3m.

‘Hand it back’

Even when the decision was announced, there were still calls for the convention centre to be handed back to HBC in order to be ready to reopen when restrictions allow, for the benefit of the local economy.

Lord Newby, the Liberal Democrat leader in the House of Lords, who lives in Ripon, has been a vocal critic of the continued use of the venue.

He told the Lords in October that the venue will not be able to open safely because existing NHS employees are expected to staff it, rather than additional staff being recruited. Labour MP Yvette Cooper backed up this claim in the House of Commons the following month.

Lord Newby has since called for the venue to be handed back to the council, accepting that it will “never be used”.

A spokesperson for the NHS Nightingale Yorkshire and the Humber, however, said the venue was on stand-by ready to be scaled up with “the right mix of skills” when needed.

Meanwhile, the vaccination programme for the district began just a few days before Christmas at the Great Yorkshire Showground.