The Chief Executive of the NHS Sir Simon Stevens has given a strong indication that Harrogate’s NHS Nightingale at the Harrogate Convention Centre will stay in place for the winter.
The 500 bed Nightingale Yorkshire and Humber has yet to treat a single coronavirus patient. Its CT scans have recently started to be used for regular NHS patients.
Sir Simon Stevens appeared on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show this morning. He was asked about the use of the Nightingale hospitals in the future. His response was the strongest indication yet that the Harrogate Nightingale will stay beyond its existing contract with Harrogate Borough Council, which owns the HCC, that runs until the end of July.
“We are going to use them in two ways, first of all as we’re doing in Harrogate and Exeter, we want Nightingale type diagnostic care to ensure people can get tests and check ups and also we need to sustain a significant part of that capacity going into the winter, given the concerns of a resurgence of the virus.”
“We’ve seen in other countries in Australia, Spain and Germany that local lockdowns are required because coronavirus will be with us for months if not years to come.”
Harrogate Nightingale Hospital was lit up blue yesterday evening to celebrate the 72nd birthday of the NHS.
Read More:
- Harrogate Hospital has reached two weeks with no reported coronavirus deaths.
- Numbers of coronavirus cases doubled overnight after the data from mass testing programmes were added to official figures.
Sir Simon has said that this virus could be “with us for months if not years”. His comments will have been closely watched by the hospitality industry in Harrogate as events at the HCC bring in millions of pounds of businesses.
The Stray Ferret previously reported that the borough council was preparing to reopen the convention centre in the autumn if the NHS did not renew its contract.
