Coronavirus: Nightingale hospitals told to mobilise for new influx of Covid patients

Regular testing also to be introduced for all health staff and patients in hotspot areas, regardless of whether they have symptoms or not

Nightingale Hospitals in Manchester, Sunderland and Harrogate have been asked to mobilise in preparation for an emerging second wave of the coronavirus in England.

The medical director of NHS England, Professor Stephen Powis, said the hospitals, which were built during the initial stages of the pandemic, are getting ready to accept new patients with Covid-19.

The sites could also be used to provide extra capacity to maintain health services for people without the coronavirus.

Prof Powis told a Downing Street briefing that there would also be increased testing of health staff and hospital patients in hotspot areas.

He said: "To protect our staff and our patients, we will be introducing – with tests provided by the test and trace service – regular testing for staff in these high-risk areas, even when they don't have symptoms.

“This will help us keep staff and patients in those hospitals as safe as possible.”

Prof Powis warned that the number of Covid-19 patients in hospitals is rising rapidly in northern England and could outstrip the rate seen during the first wave of the virus.

"We now have more patients in hospital with Covid-19 than we did when the government announced restrictions on 23 March," he said.

In the week to 6 October, 1,015 people with Covid-19 were admitted to hospitals in the northwest, according to the latest data. In Yorkshire and the northeast, 809 people were taken to hospital with the disease over the same period.

England's deputy chief medical officer, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, said that while cases are rising fastest in the north, it is of "concern" that they are "heating up" in more parts of the country compared with a week ago.

Prof Van-Tam said other regions are now following the pattern in the northwest, where the virus moved through the age bands, having spiked first among young people.

"There is the spread from those younger age groups into the 60-plus age group in the northwest and the northeast, and there are rates of change in the same places but also extending a little further south," he said.

"And this is again of significant concern, because of course the elderly suffer a much worse course with Covid-19. They are admitted to hospital for longer periods, and they are more difficult to save."

Prof Powis cautioned that it would take "a number of weeks" before the benefit of any additional measures put in place this week are seen in hospital admissions.

The prime minister, Boris Johnson, is expected to set out his three-tier strategy in a Commons statement on Monday, with areas in England labelled as medium, high or very high risk, which will inform the "appropriate interventions" needed in each area.

Prof Powis also said he did not want to have to delay operations by diverting staff to battle Covid-19 for a second time.

"Where we can, we don't want this to happen again this time, but that depends on all of us doing what needs to be done to contain this virus in the community," he said.

However, he said the country was in a better position than in March and April.

"Clearly we have learnt many things from that first wave, we have learnt better treatments for patients, and dexamethasone ... we learnt that that reduces deaths." 

But he warned: "R is above one, that means that infections will continue to rise, and as infections continue to rise, then hospital admissions and impact on health services continue to rise."

Additional reporting by PA