Johns Hopkins Medical Centre - World Coronavirus infection Map by Country.

[Marco]

Does anyone know why all the Nightingale hospitals that the Government has had built, at considerable cost, currently lying empty, aren't being used to house all (or as many as possible) of the Covid patients from around the country, subsequently freeing up beds/facilities and staff in the main hospitals to fulfil the backlog of cancer treatments and operations, etc?

That way, they'd have much less chance of 'becoming overwhelmed', even though that looks unlikely... Or is that too sensible?

Marco.

[struth]

Does anyone know why all the Nightingale hospitals that the Government has had built, at considerable cost, currently lying empty, aren't being used to house all (or as many as possible) of the Covid patients from around the country, subsequently freeing up beds/facilities and staff in the main hospitals to fulfil the backlog of cancer treatments and operations, etc?

That way, they'd have much less chance of 'becoming overwhelmed', even though that looks unlikely... Or is that too sensible?

Marco.

Just 19 patients treated at 4,000-bed NHS Nightingale hospital in London over Easter weekend

Few patients were treated at new overflow facility as intensive care capacity at existing London hospitals never went above 80 per cent.

so just for show perhaps, or was it panic... a bigger question may be do they have staff for them.

[Marco]

The latter is a possibility, but the former just proves how much of a bollox all this panic over 'overwhelming the NHS' is!

Marco.

[walpurgis]

Far better to have it and not need it than the other way round.

[Marco]

Indeed, but the point is, they're saying that certain hospitals are already 'feeling the strain' of rising hospitalisations from Covid cases, which is preventing some important operations and cancer treatments from taking place, so why not move all the Covid patients into a Nightingale hospital, thus freeing up staff and facilities at said main hospitals to undertake other vital treatments, which are arguably just as important.

The fact is, just because Covid-19 is around, the rest of the world, as it were, doesn't stop turning....!

For me, it's absolutely ridiculous that urgent cancer treatment is being delayed (with potentially fatal consequences), because of the current priority for treating Covid patients, when there are 4000-bed Nightingale hospitals lying empty that could ably be utilised!!

Marco.

[Macca]

This is what I was saying before about local capacity being important. You can't just schlep critically ill people around the country to make space without risking killing them.

[Pigmy Pony]

Sounds thrilling... I might settle for than when I'm 70, of course without the work... But going on the social life my dad still enjoys at 87, maybe not!

Marco.

Tell me a little about the social life your dad still enjoys at 87, as it appears to be making me look like I've given up on life Then tell me what his social life would look like if he was enjoying the same restrictions we in Lancashire have put up with since early August.

[tapid]

Does anyone know why all the Nightingale hospitals that the Government has had built, at considerable cost, currently lying empty, aren't being used to house all (or as many as possible) of the Covid patients from around the country, subsequently freeing up beds/facilities and staff in the main hospitals to fulfil the backlog of cancer treatments and operations, etc?

That way, they'd have much less chance of 'becoming overwhelmed', even though that looks unlikely... Or is that too sensible?

Marco.

Don't tell the yoofs the nightingales are empty or there target em for a massive rave up !. I think they may have been mothballed..... whatever that means ?
London figures not too bad at mo. Camden did well in 1st wave which considering how mad ( busy ) it is was a big surprise.

[Marco]

This is what I was saying before about local capacity being important. You can't just schlep critically ill people around the country to make space without risking killing them.

indeed, but not everyone occupying a hospital bed with Covid is critically ill. Indeed the majority aren't, and could quite easily be transferred to an available Nightingale hospital, to free up space to facilitate all the other (equally important) critical treatments that people require.

Quite simply, the world shouldn't (and indeed can't) revolve around Covid-19!

Marco.

[Macca]

I think because the Nightingale hospitals are only set up to deal with Covid, they don't have the full range of treatments a proper hospital has.

If hospital was like in 'Carry On Doctor' where there's nothing much wrong with the patients and they just need a bed to lie in I suppose it would work but I doubt many real hospital patients come under that description.