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13
Nov 2020
Yvette Cooper MP: 'no spare staff for Harrogate Nightingale'
A senior Yorkshire MP has fuelled fears the Harrogate Nightingale hospital does not have the staff to open for covid patients.
Yvette Cooper, Labour MP for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford, told a covid debate in Parliament on Wednesday that Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust currently has over 280 covid patients — 70% more than in April.
Ms Cooper said the trust had to cope with fewer staff than in April, adding:
She added she was worried about the pressure on NHS staff and urged Health Secretary Matt Hancock to "work urgently with Yorkshire hospitals to get them more support and more staff in place over the next couple of weeks, when the pressure is likely to be greatest".
Read more:
- Harrogate Nightingale 'could open with five days notice'
- Exclusive: Harrogate Nightingale hospital 'unable to open safely'
Mr Hancock responded:
Last month Lord Newby, the Ripon-based Liberal Democrat leader in the House of Lords, expressed similar concerns to Ms Cooper when he said the Harrogate Nightingale “simply does not have the staff available to allow it to operate safely”.
No patients so far
The Harrogate Nightingale has not treated a single covid patient so far.
The Stray Ferret asked NHS England whether Ms Cooper's claim was correct and, with covid rates in the region soaring, whether there were any plans to finally open the hospital.
A spokesperson for NHS Nightingale Hospital Yorkshire and the Humber, which is the full title of the Harrogate Nightingale, replied:
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