Inquiry reveals Harrogate Nightingale cost £31.6 million

An inquiry into Harrogate’s Nightingale hospital has revealed the facility cost £31.6 million.

The 500-bed hospital at Harrogate Convention Centre was one of eight Nightingale hospitals set up at the start of the covid pandemic in March 2020. It was dismantled last year without treating a single covid patient.

Of its £31.6 million costs, £17 million was spent on building and dismantling works, £10.4 million on running costs and £4.1 million on equipment.

A further £1.1 million was spent on security and around £500,000 on cleaning and food.

Members of West Yorkshire Joint Health Overview Scrutiny Committee launched the inquiry into the hospital after raising questions over why it was not used to treat any covid patients and how it would have been staffed if needed.

The committee has now concluded that while these questions remain unanswered, the need for the eight Nightingale hospitals across the UK showed there was insufficient critical care capacity in regular hospitals.

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Harrogate Borough Council – which owns the convention centre – also charged £4.2 million for staffing, utilities, business rates.

The committee said while it had not reached a conclusion on the costs, it had asked for its findings to be presented to a full public inquiry into the government’s handling of the pandemic set to be launched later this year.

Meanwhile, the inquiry also found that the nation had to be better prepared for future pandemics.

It said:

“The country needs to learn from this experience to plan for future pandemics.

“Although we learnt that staffing the Nightingale hospital would have only required 0.6% of the NHS hospital workforce across Yorkshire and the Humber, this only worked when nearly all elective hospital work had been suspended.

“This still feels like it would have been very tight and put significant pressure on certain key professions.”

‘Most frightening experience of my life’

The Nightingale hospital opened in April 2020 amid fears that the NHS might be overwhelmed by covid and it was dismantled almost a year later at a total cost of £31.6 million.

Members of the West Yorkshire Joint Health Overview Scrutiny Committee suggested there was a public view that the seven Nightingale hospitals were a “major waste of money”.

However, senior NHS officials have argued that had the hospitals not been built and it subsequently proved they were needed, the consequences would have been “unthinkable”.

Speaking at a meeting with the committee in September, Steve Russell, chief executive of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, said:

“If they had been needed and they hadn’t been built, we would have been asked far more difficult questions than why did you spend £30 million.

“I cannot describe to you the feeling of sitting in the convention centre looking at the chart that in four days we will run out of ventilation beds until you get this hospital mobilised.

“It was the most frightening experience of my life.”

The committee also praised the thousands of staff involved in setting up and running the Nightingale, including NHS workers, council staff, contractors and volunteers.

The committee said: 

“The predicted numbers of covid patients for Yorkshire and the Humber far outweighed the number of hospital beds that could be provided for all levels of care, which was why it was important to have the further capacity that the Nightingale hospitals gave us.

“We have nothing but admiration for the way in which they, NHS colleagues throughout Yorkshire and the Humber and partner organisations responded.

“It is a tribute to the work of the NHS, local authorities, the community and voluntary sector and many others that we did not need to use the Nightingale Hospital.”

Use Harrogate’s Nightingale for other services, says councillor

Harrogate’s Nightingale hospital could be used for routine operations, flu jabs and patient recuperation, a local councillor has suggested.

Cllr Jim Clark, who represents North Yorkshire on the West Yorkshire Joint Health Overview Scrutiny Panel, suggested the 500-bed hospital could be used to relieve pressure on other health services.

The contract for the Nightingale was extended in August until March 2021.

A report to the panel said the hospital is currently on stand-by for any patients that need to be admitted amid the second wave of coronavirus infections.

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The hospital has been used for outpatient CT scans since June but Cllr Clark suggested it could be used for wider purposes.

Cllr Jim Clark, North Yorkshire county councillor and Harrogate borough councillor.

The Conservative, who represents Harrogate Harlow on North Yorkshire County Council, told the Stray Ferret it was a pity the hospital could not be used for other medical purposes besides coronavirus:

“It could be used for other things, such as flu vaccinations, routine operations or to give opportunities for people to recuperate.”

Cllr Clark added he had been assured the Nightingale would be ready for any patients that needed care during the second wave of the pandemic.

A report before scrutiny councillors last week said the hospital “could be reactivated at short notice” if critical care was needed.

NHS England took over Harrogate’s Convention Centre in April but so far the hospital has not been used to treat coronavirus patients.

Government figures last month showed the Nightingale cost £27 million to set up, the third highest of the seven hospitals set up during the pandemic.

The total cost of the seven hospitals stands at £220 million.

Harrogate Borough Council has not charged the NHS any rent for the town’s Nightingale.

But, figures published in August showed the authority had billed £126,000 a month for gas, electric and water.

Harrogate’s Nightingale hospital cost £27m to set up

The government has revealed it cost £27.3 million to set up Harrogate’s Nightingale Hospital.

The sum is the third highest of the seven Nightingale hospitals in England and almost twice as high as previous data had suggested.

Health minister Edward Argar gave the total set up costs of each hospital on Friday in response to a written question by Layla Moran, the Liberal Democrats spokesperson for education.

The figures were:

Mr Argar said:

“The total set up costs for all seven Nightingale sites equates to approximately £220m.”

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The NHS took over Harrogate’s Convention Centre in April for the hospital but so far it has not been used to treat coronavirus patients.

It has capacity for 500 patients across the eight halls in use for the hospital. Birmingham’s Nightingale had 500 beds on set-up, with capacity to double that immediately if required, and increase to 8,000 should the number of cases rise significantly.

Similarly, London’s ExCel centre was set up for 500 patients, with the ability to expand to take 5,000 if required. Manchester has 1,000 beds, Sunderland 460, Exeter 116 and Bristol 60, with expansion potential for 300 beds if needed.

Government figures in July showed the Department of Health and Social Care spent £14.89m constructing the Harrogate hospital. Dutch construction firm BAM was awarded the contract.

The Stray Ferret asked NHS England why the new figure was so much higher but had not received a response by the time of publication.

Harrogate’s hospitality sector says Nightingale extension has ‘huge impact’

The seven month extension to the NHS contract at Harrogate Convention Centre has forced local business to call for clarity saying it will have a “huge impact”.

After weeks of uncertainty regarding the Nightingale hospital it was announced last night that the contract has been extended until the end of March 2021.  A review will go ahead in October to review the need for the 500-bed hospital.

Local businesses which relying on the events trade said they want information.

Andrew Manby, director of events firm Joe Manby Ltd, said:

“This will have a major impact, particularly on the town’s services. At the moment the autumn is under question, we don’t know what will be available. The bigger impact will be for the beginning of next year. We are looking at January currently and it’ll be interesting how they will make it work. There is an absolute lack of clarity about the situation, on our end we were hoping for some clarity as the position going forward is uncertain.

“It may be available from December if they pull out during the October review. Anyone who works with the events centre will be affected, we haven’t had that clear decision today or at all.”

Inside of Harrogate's Nightingale Hospital

The continuing use by the NHS means the convention centre is unable to plan ahead for future events.

Kim Wilson, chairman of Accommodation Harrogate and a B&B owner, said:

“We were pretty sure something was going to happen. January/February are our quietest months anyway asides from the big show which were already cancelled. We’d want the events back to normal but if they are cancelled already we’d want the event centre open as soon as possible. This will have a big impact on the bed and breakfasts, hotels, pubs and restaurants locally it could put them in a significant situation.”

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Last month £3 billon of funding was announced for the Nightingale hospitals across the UK to be maintained until the end of March if needed.

The temporary hospital hasn’t treated a single coronavirus patient but will remain in place for a further seven months amid fears of a winter spike of coronavirus.

The facility has been used for outpatient CT scans since early June.  Details of the financial contract between the NHS and HBC for this extension have not yet been made public.

Harrogate Nightingale cost £15m – but still no news on its future

The construction of Harrogate’s Nightingale hospital cost almost £15m, government contract figures reveal.

The Department of Health and Social Care spent £14.89m delivering the field hospital through Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust in April.

The contract was given to Dutch construction firm BAM, an existing supplier to the NHS. The Nightingale hospital in Exeter, also constructed by BAM, had a similar set-up cost of £14.7m, while Manchester came in at £10.35m under Integrated Health Projects.

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And with just four days to go until the end of the agreement between the NHS and Harrogate Convention Centre to use the site, no announcement has been made about whether the Nightingale hospital will remain.

Two weeks ago, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a further £3bn of funding for the NHS to maintain the additional hospital facilities around the UK if needed over winter. However, since then, the NHS has announced it is decommissioning two of the Nightingales, in London and Birmingham.

The NEC in Birmingham is set to reopen for events on October 1, in line with changing government guidance for the industry. However, the venue’s owners have agreed with the NHS to support a small non-Covid stand-by facility until March 2021, offering additional space for routine work in case existing hospitals have to deal with a second wave of the virus over winter.

Meanwhile, London’s ExCel centre will also reopen for events, with only a small percentage of its space set aside for equipment storage for the NHS Nightingale.

Harrogate’s Nightingale hospital takes up eight of the Harrogate Convention Centre’s halls and has not yet been used to treat any Covid patients. Instead, since early June, it has been offering CT scans to help the NHS catch up with appointments delayed through the coronavirus crisis.

At the time of publication, the NHS’s agreement with Harrogate Borough Council for use of the convention centre is set to expire on Friday, with no new contract in place.

Last month, The Stray Ferret reported on preparations being made to reopen the centre for events as soon as legislation allows. Measures being made ready including deep-cleaning, introducing one-way systems, and allowing events to use more space free of charge in order to enable social distancing.

NHS is not paying rent for Nightingale hospital at Harrogate Convention Centre

Harrogate Convention Centre is not being paid any rent by the NHS for its use of halls as a temporary Nightingale hospital.

Since construction began in late March, and until the end of June, rent is not payable to the convention centre or its owner, Harrogate Borough Council.

Staff from the convention centre, as well as HBC’s property services, estates and ICT departments, have supported the transformation of the centre into the Nightingale hospital ready to be handed over and officially opened on April 21st. Documents due to be discussed by the council’s cabinet tomorrow say:

“The contract is initially in place until the end of June 2020 and work is underway to understand whether that may be extended.

“The contract does not provide for rent to be paid during the NHS occupation up to the end of June, as no planned events were being held during this period. However, should the agreement be extended there is provision for compensation in the event of the cancellation of future events.”

Harrogate Convention Centre has not commented on whether its staffing, utility and other costs are being covered, or on arrangements from July onwards. Harrogate Borough Council has also declined to comment.

The Nightingale hospital is not currently in use, but is on stand-by in case existing hospitals in Yorkshire and the Humber are unable to cope with the number of Covid-19 cases.

It has 500 beds and has occupied eight of the centre’s halls. Staff who were trained on site during April have since returned to their usual workplaces elsewhere in Yorkshire.

Chinook lands on Harrogate’s Stray bringing senior NHS staff to Nightingale hospital

Armed forces brought senior NHS to Harrogate’s Nightingale Hospital after landing a Chinook helicopter on the Stray this afternoon.

It landed at around 1pm between Wetherby Road and Knaresborough Road, drawing onlookers as the occupants disembarked.

The Stray Ferret understands the helicopter was used to transport senior NHS staff to the temporary Nightingale hospital, which was officially opened on Tuesday via video link. At present, it is not being used to treat patients, but will remain available until needed.

Eyewitnesses reported that the visitors were taken by van towards Harrogate Convention Centre, before returning two hours later. After a number of people gathered to watch proceedings, officers from North Yorkshire Police arrived to ask them to move back and disperse.

The chinook helicopter left the Stray at around 3.30pm. The NHS Nightingale Yorkshire and the Humber had not responded to our request for more information about the visit at the time of publication.

Harrogate’s Nightingale opens: A rapid feat of construction and engineering

The transformation of the Harrogate Convention Centre into a 500-bed surge hospital has been a real feat of engineering and cooperation.

Work started on the NHS Nightingale Yorkshire and the Humber three weeks ago and required 13 miles of copper, 15,000m² of vinyl, 18,000m² of hygienic walls, 1,000 pieces of IT equipment, 100 miles of cables and more than seven million litres of oxygen.

It also needed more than 600 people working together from the NHS, BAM Construction and the Armed Forces – with more than 30,000 hours of labour.

Just a small fraction of the piping involved

When the work began the director of the HCC Paula Lorimer said she had to bring back security, cleaning and stewarding teams to help the construction team:

“It’s a vast site and very detailed engineering drawings have had to be got out. We had to teach the Royal Engineers their way around the building so they can put in the complex facilities that are needed.”

 

Captain Tom Moore to open Harrogate’s Nightingale Hospital today

Harrogate’s Nightingale Hospital will officially open today with the help of guest of honour Captain Tom Moore.

The NHS Nightingale Yorkshire and the Humber has been set up at Harrogate Convention Centre in less than three weeks.

NHS and army staff have been working alongside BAM Construction “around the clock” to get the 500-bed facility up and running. Eight of the convention centre’s halls will be used to accommodate level three critical care beds for Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

Tributes have been paid to those behind the project in two videos – one featuring a host of celebrities, the other people with links to the town.

Captain Tom Moore will be guest of honour at the official opening of Harrogate's Nightingale Hospital

Captain Tom Moore will be guest of honour at the official opening of Harrogate’s Nightingale Hospital.

Originally from Keighley, war veteran Captain Tom Moore – who hit headlines after walking 100 laps of his garden before his 100th birthday to raise more than £27m for NHS Charities Together – will be part of the ceremony via video link from his home.

The seven Nightingale hospitals around the country offer extra capacity on top of the 33,000 additional beds freed up across NHS hospitals – the equivalent of building 50 district general hospitals – and up to 8,000 beds made available through an unprecedented deal with the independent sector.

In a statement released on the eve of the opening, Harrogate’s Liberal Democrat spokesperson Judith Rogerson said: “I know everyone in Harrogate will be honoured to welcome Captain Tom Moore to town for the opening of our local Nightingale Hospital tomorrow. His outstanding achievement raising so much money for the NHS has been a real morale boost for the whole country at this difficult time.

“However, we can’t ignore the fact that significant fundraising is taking place to meet funding shortfalls in our much loved NHS. I don’t for a second want to detract from Captain Tom’s achievement. But as well as recognising his heroic efforts, politicians everywhere should be considering how we can all work together to secure a better future for health and care services, so that our key workers will always have the resources that they need to look after us.”

Cllr Pat Marsh, leader of the Lib Dems on Harrogate Borough Council, added: “Captain Tom Moore’s heroic, epic fundraising efforts have shown that we all do value the NHS. Just valuing is really not enough, we must take a lead from Captain Moore and raise money for this precious, irreplaceable service.

“These horrific times have shown what an irreplaceable service the NHS is, staffed by people who are fantastic. We do need to ensure that all frontline/key workers can do their job safely with the right tools for the job. Just as Captain Tom would not have been sent to the frontline without at least a helmet and a gun then our frontline staff have to be given the right tools in their fight against coronavirus.”

Fundraising Army veteran will be guest of honour at official opening of Harrogate’s Nightingale hospital

The war veteran who has raised almost £25m for the NHS is set to be the guest of honour at the official opening of Harrogate’s Nightingale Hospital next week.

Originally from Keighley, Captain Tom Moore – who hit headlines after walking 100 laps of his garden before his 100th birthday – will be part of the ceremony via video link from his home on Tuesday.

Money continues to pour in to his fundraising page, and Captain Moore – who served in India and the Burma campaign during the Second World War – is still walking after hitting his target of 100 laps earlier this week.

He said: “I am still amazed by the amount of kindness and generosity from the UK public who continue to give despite it being an uncertain time for many.

“I think the amount raised demonstrates just how much we all value the dedication and sacrifices made by our NHS workers. I have fought during a war and they are now fighting in a war too.

“I’m honoured to be opening the NHS Nightingale Yorkshire and Humber and to get to thank many of the NHS workers directly. I know that having extra beds available for the sick, if needed will be reassuring to those workers, as it would have been to me when I was on the frontline.”

NHS Nightingale Hospital Yorkshire and the Humber, Harrogate

The NHS Nightingale Yorkshire and the Humber has been set up at Harrogate Convention Centre in less than three weeks. Staff from the centre worked alongside the Army, NHS and private businesses to complete the transformation, and tributes have been paid to their work in two videos – one featuring a host of celebrities, the other people with links to the town.

Sir Simon Stevens, NHS chief executive, added: “Inviting Captain Moore to be our guest of honour at the opening of NHS Nightingale Yorkshire and Humber is the least we can do to thank him for his inspiring service and example, and no doubt there will be further ways in which we will be able to express our gratitude.

“Just like the amazing campaign Captain Moore has inspired, the Nightingales are a symbol of how people have come together as part of a nationwide effort to prepare – should they be needed now or in the months to come – for the greatest global health emergency in more than a century.”

The seven Nightingale hospitals around the country offer extra capacity on top of the 33,000 additional beds freed up across NHS hospitals – the equivalent of building 50 district general hospitals – and up to 8,000 beds made available through an unprecedented deal with the independent sector.

Sir Simon said he hoped the temporary hospitals could be used as little as possible, but would be standing by if other services reached capacity.