Manchester's Nightingale hospital asked to 'mobilise'

Three temporary Nightingale hospitals in the north of England could be brought back into use to deal with the spike in coronavirus cases.

The facilities in Manchester, Sunderland and Harrogate have been asked to "mobilise'' over the next few weeks to be ready to accept patients if needed.

NHS England's Professor Stephen Powis told a Downing Street briefing: "We have asked the Nightingale hospitals in Manchester, Sunderland and Harrogate to prepare for this next phase.

"They are being asked to mobilise over the next few weeks to be ready to accept patients if necessary.''

It will be for local clinicians to decide whether they are used for Covid-19 patients or to provide extra capacity to maintain services for people without coronavirus.

The announcement comes as coronavirus cases across the country continue to rise, with particularly high incidence in parts of northern England.

Seven Nightingale hospitals were built in locations in England, including London, Manchester and Bristol, to create surge capacity as a response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Other sites included Sunderland, Exeter, Harrogate and Birmingham.

In June, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that they would be converted into cancer testing centres.

Greater Manchester's Covid situation

Pressure is building on NHS hospitals, with a steep rise in the number of people needing urgent treatment for coronavirus, senior government advisers have said.

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

Dr Jane Eddleston, a consultant in intensive care medicine and anaesthesia in Manchester Royal Infirmary, urged the public to "respect'' the virus due to the "extremely serious'' consequences it has for some patients.

She told the Downing Street press briefing: "The North West has about 40% of all Covid cases at the moment and this is proving very challenging for us.

"Within Greater Manchester, we have seen a threefold increase in the number of patients admitted to intensive care in the last five weeks and an eightfold increase in the number of patients admitted to our hospitals.

"The situation at the moment is that 30% of our critical care beds are taken up with patients with Covid and this is starting to impact on the services we provide for other patients.''