The NHS Nightingale Hospital Birmingham was the second of the temporary NHS Nightingale Hospitals set up by NHS England to help to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. It was constructed inside the National Exhibition Centre, Solihull, and opened on 16 April 2020.[1] It cost £66.4 million to set up and was the most expensive of all the Nightingale temporary hospitals. On 1 April 2021 the hospital closed without ever treating a patient.[2]
| NHS Nightingale Hospital Birmingham | |
|---|---|
| University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust | |
 View of the National Exhibition Centre, the site of the hospital, in 2015 | |
 | |
| Geography | |
| Location | National Exhibition Centre Solihull B40 1NT, West Midlands |
| Coordinates | 52°27′12″N 1°43′10″W / 52.45333°N 1.71944°W |
| Organisation | |
| Care system | NHS England |
| Type | COVID-19 critical care |
| Services | |
| Beds |
|
| Helipad | Birmingham Airport |
| History | |
| Opened | 16 April 2020 |
| Closed | 1 April 2021 |
| Links | |
| Website | nightingale-birmingham |
Background
editTo add extra critical care capacity during the COVID-19 epidemic in the UK, and to treat those with COVID-19, plans were made to create further temporary hospital spaces for those in need of treatment and care.[3][4] They have been named "Nightingale Hospitals", after Florence Nightingale who came to prominence for nursing soldiers during the Crimean War and is regarded as the founder of modern nursing.[5]
Details
editThe hospital was constructed in 8 days by 400 civilian personnel, 500 clinical staff and military personnel to a cost of £66.4 million.[6][7] It was announced as operational on 10 April 2020,[8] and was initially scheduled to receive its first patients on 12 April.[9][10] It was formally opened by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, via remote video link, on 16 April.[11]
It was intended to support 23 Midlands hospitals by taking patients who were convalescing from having COVID-19, patients who are required less intensive treatment, and patients who needed palliative care.[9] In doing this it would have relieved pressure on conventional hospitals where the most seriously ill patients were treated.[9] The hospital fell under the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust.[9]
It was the second temporary 'Nightingale Hospital' to be built in England,[9] following NHS Nightingale London, that opened on 3 April 2020 in the ExCeL London exhibition and convention centre.[12]
The hospital occupied halls 8-12 and 16 of the NEC, connected via the Atrium.[13] It had 496 beds divided into four wards from day one, with the option to expand to 800 immediately if needed.[14] A plan for a second phase was envisaged that would have brought the number of beds in use up to 2,000, however this was never necessary.[14] In the worst-case scenario 4,000 beds would have been available.[14]
It included a new Tesco store exclusively for the use of its staff.[15]
The hospital never treated any patients due to existing hospitals being able to absorb the increased demand.[2] It closed on 1 April 2021, less than a year after opening.[7]
Personnel
editThe following were involved in the creation of the hospital:
- Paul Thandi (CEO of the NEC Group).[16]
- Anthony Marsh (West Midlands Ambulance Service Chief Executive).[16]
- Major Angela Laycock (66 Works Group, 170 Infrastructure Support Engineer Group, Royal Engineers).[16][14]
- Dr David Rosser (Chief Executive, University Hospitals Birmingham).[16][14]
- Lisa Stalley-Green (Executive Chief Nurse, University Hospitals Birmingham and Chief Nurse of NHS Nightingale Birmingham).[14]
- Morag Gates (Project Director, NHS Nightingale Birmingham).[14]
References
edit- ^ "Birmingham's NHS Nightingale Hospital officially declared open by Prince William". Birmingham Mail. 16 April 2020.
- ^ a b "Covid: Birmingham's Nightingale hospital closes without seeing any patients". itv.com. April 2021.
- ^ Sabbagh, Dan (16 March 2020). "Army likely to embed medics in NHS hospitals to help fight coronavirus". The Guardian.
- ^ Schraer, Rachel (24 March 2020). "ExCeL Centre to be used as coronavirus hospital". BBC News.
- ^ "Coronavirus: Nightingale Hospital opens at London's ExCel centre". BBC News. 3 April 2020.
- ^ Carding2021-01-20T16:11:00+00:00, Nick. "Revealed: Nightingale hospitals to cost half a billion pounds in total". Health Service Journal. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b "Coronavirus: Birmingham's Nightingale hospital 'has no patients'". BBC News. 26 April 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
- ^ "Birmingham Nightingale hospital 'operational'". BBC News. 10 April 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "Inside NHS Nightingale Birmingham at the NEC". ITV News. 8 April 2020.
- ^ "Birmingham's Nightingale Hospital to be operational within days". Express and Star. 3 April 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ "Prince William opens Nightingale Hospital". BBC News.
- ^ Davies, Caroline (3 April 2020). "Prince Charles to open NHS Nightingale to treat Covid-19 patients". The Guardian.
- ^ "Site Map" (PDF). UHB. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Birmingham NEC Nightingale Hospital 'phenomenal' effort". Express & Star. 8 April 2020.
- ^ "Birmingham's Nightingale hospital Tesco store for NHS staff only". BBC News. 7 April 2020.
- ^ a b c d "NHS Nightingale Hospital Birmingham on Track to See Patients Within a Week". NEC. 8 April 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2020.