Nightingale hospitals stand empty despite surging Covid cases as medics warn of staff shortages

The flagship Nightingale hospital is being dismantled as medics warn that there are not enough staff to run the facilities despite the NHS being at risk of being overwhelmed by coronavirus.

Amid surging virus case numbers, elective surgery is being cancelled as the number of patients in hospitals in England passes the peak of the first wave in April. 

Although the NHS is "struggling" to cope, the majority of the seven Nightingale hospitals, created at a cost of £220 million, have yet to start treating COVID-19 patients during the second wave. The Exeter Nightingale has been treating Covid patients since mid-November. 

The facility at London's Excel centre has been stripped of its beds and ventilators.

The NHS has told trusts to start preparing to use the overflow facilities in the coming weeks, but bosses have failed to explain how they will be staffed.

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Source: The Telegraph, 28 December 2020