In England the number of people testing positive for COVID-19 and requiring hospital admission has been reducing steadily, and acute hospitals in the North West have demonstrated that they are now able to admit all the COVID-19 patients who require treatment. This will reduce the number of referrals to the Nightingale.
As a result, after the last patient leaves at the end of June, the Nightingale will be placed on standby, ready to resume operations as and when needed in the weeks and potentially months to come.
This does not mean the Nightingale’s role in the North West’s response to the virus is over. We must be ready for the possibility that the number of COVID-19 cases rises again as social distancing rules are eased.
Work is also underway to consider how the Nightingale’s role may further adapt as the NHS seeks to resume activity that had to be paused in the first phase of our response to the pandemic.
We will now begin to implement our standby plan. During this period it is critical that we continue to provide the best possible care for our patients currently on the wards. All staff currently rostered should continue to attend their shifts, and those colleagues on induction should continue with their programme of training.
Your manager will speak with you in the coming days about what standby plans mean for you. We will also work with you to develop a plan to return to your substantive roles or to find new roles via NHS Professionals. Our Workforce Team will be providing support, and will produce further guidance shortly.
We want to make sure you feel informed and supported at every stage of what will no doubt be a challenging and uncertain time. We held a staff briefing session with the Executive team earlier today, and you are invited to join further briefings at 3pm today or 9am tomorrow. Those staff not onsite at these times can join virtually via Microsoft Teams; joining information is included at the end of this email.
We will continue to keep you updated over the coming days. If you have any questions, please raise them with your line manager.
Over the last eight weeks the Nightingale team has worked day and night to create this fantastic hospital – from the physical build, to the establishment of systems and processes, to training our staff. And while it may not be a conventional setting, it is a fantastic facility providing NHS-standard care.
We are incredibly grateful to the hundreds of staff who stepped forward to work here. These are unprecedented times for the NHS – and it takes something special for people to volunteer to support our health service at its time of need.
We can all be extremely proud of what we have created together. As one team we have provided outstanding care to our patients. We have made them feel settled, we have helped them connect with their loved ones and we have helped prepare them to return home. To the patients we have treated, we have made a difference.
