NHS Nightingale hubs cost £11m to build ... only to treat seven patients

The Nightingale surge hubs cost more than £10.6 million to set up but have admitted roughly seven patients, it has emerged.

Eight temporary sites were built at hospitals across the country during the height of the omicron wave, with the capacity to house about 100 patients each. However, it has now been revealed that the hubs cost £10,672,088 to build and only one has admitted a handful of patients.

Announcing the hubs in December, NHS England said they would be used if “the record number of Covid-19 infections leads to a surge in admissions and outstrips existing capacity”.

However, as of Jan 30, there were 1,285 daily admissions, an eight per cent decrease on the previous week.

The chief executive of the William Harvey Hospital, in Ashford, Kent – the location of one of the eight omicron hubs – has expressed concerns that the structure “may adversely impact” other services and never be used.

The cost of the hubs was revealed in response to a written question submitted by Damian Green, the Conservative MP Mr Green said that the temporary sites were an “insurance policy” and added “it looks like they won’t be needed”. He called on ministers to assess if they could be repurposed to help clear the backlog of patients waiting for treatment.

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Source: The Telegraph, 2 February 2022