Nightingale Hospitals

At the beginning of the pandemic- many people in all walks of life found themselves having to ‘fill in’ roles they were ill equipped at the time to perform. Parents home schooling children, (often whilst juggling work) workers setting up home IT in the only space available, medical staff having to try and transfer face to face clinic skills to video calls-the government - many with no scientific or medical expertise or even basic knowledge-trying to make suitable decisions.

I am in no way a fan of this Tory set of useless and often corrupt and despicable individuals and I know this was and is a complete waste of money.
But reflecting on what is happening around our world at the moment we are fortunate to have had that resource even though it was totally off the mark.

I think everyone panicked with Covid and of course it was a situation that was wide open to corruption and ‘jobs for the boys’ of which the tories took full advantage.

Could these spaces not now be converted and used for people who are homeless, refugees etc.?

I know army medics were employed on end of life covid wards
The same medics went to NI to give vaccinations but several people refused to have jabs from the army !!!

I despair of this gov't use of our money, I want my money to go to refugees, people who are going through a hard time, the NHS, education, but it seems like our money is going to already wealthy billionaires. Its like they know they're only going to be in power a limited time so they're emptying the treasury whilst they can

The Nightingale in Exeter is used for operations such as hip replacement and has helped cut down the waiting lists. But they still depend on staffing levels

You know the pandemic was our world war. I am sure massive mistakes were made then and money squandered but these days we rip people apart for trying , if we hadn’t bought the vaccine like we did and ended up like Europe thst would have been wrong ! yes massive mistakes were made but got forbid if we have another pandemic we will have learnt . And if Labour are in hope they use what we have learnt so those mistakes don’t happen again

Who made all the decisions when Boris was in hospital with Covid, and nearly died?

With you Aveline. Just to let you know you have some support.

I think there is an element of jealousy here. Everytime the military are called in they do a better job than the civilians. I think the NHS were scared the military would show them up YET AGAIN. I have never been in the military but I was married to a serviceman to know that their orders are always carried through...ALWAYS.

The Nightingale Hospitals in London could be used for the street sleepers over the winter. I would suggest the illegal immigrants but they are probably not good enough for them. (That was sarcasm just in case anyone did not get it).

I think it would have been clear from the outset that staffing them would be the major issue. I volunteered to work in one, but travel restrictions and accommodation thwarted that idea.

ruthiek

You know the pandemic was our world war. I am sure massive mistakes were made then and money squandered but these days we rip people apart for trying , if we hadn’t bought the vaccine like we did and ended up like Europe thst would have been wrong ! yes massive mistakes were made but got forbid if we have another pandemic we will have learnt . And if Labour are in hope they use what we have learnt so those mistakes don’t happen again

Please could you explain "ended up like Europe". Everybody I know who lives in mainland Europe has been vaccinated.

Stillstanding

I think there is an element of jealousy here. Everytime the military are called in they do a better job than the civilians. I think the NHS were scared the military would show them up YET AGAIN. I have never been in the military but I was married to a serviceman to know that their orders are always carried through...ALWAYS.

The Nightingale Hospitals in London could be used for the street sleepers over the winter. I would suggest the illegal immigrants but they are probably not good enough for them. (That was sarcasm just in case anyone did not get it).

How far can the military go in covering for the NHS? IMO it's ridiculous to claim the NHS was jealous.

The Nightingale hospitals are essentially large warehouses. I'm sure there are loads of them about which could be used for a number of purposes.

Incidentally, how exactly are immigrants illegal?

I certainly don't think the NHS was jealous! Some of these Nightingale hospitals seem to be being used usefully. Lots of catching up to do of course.

if we hadn’t bought the vaccine like we did and ended up like Europe thst would have been wrong !

We actually paid far more for our vaccine than did the EU but we ended up in much the same place.

What was carried out superbly and efficiently was the mass vaccination programme because we, luckily, had the right person running it. Unlike Test and Trace.

springishere

Who made all the decisions when Boris was in hospital with Covid, and nearly died?

Dominic Raab.

It appears from the testimony of the top civil servants who had to deal with the that Raab was a far better 'leader' than Johnson.

It's also appearing from testimony of medics, civil servants and Johnson's own No 10 team, that Johnson was completely the wrong person to be leading the country through the pandemic. Of course, many of us already knew that...

And another judging with hindsight

The Nightingale hospital in Exeter is indeed fully functioning. It has taken a good portion of the safe, planned orthopedic operations. The ones where patients do not have additional or complex needs and complications and where they do not need an overnight stay (hip replacement surgery in non-complex patients is now considered day surgery). It also has an outpatient physiotherapy department.
It was built within the skin of an old 'Homebase' store and as such does not have any windows. It has no catering facilities either, hence suitable for day surgery only, but does have tea and coffee making facilities and microwaves for the staff (although there is always the burger van in the car park of the 'Wickes' store across the way ).
It is not a complete hospital in its own right, rather an annexe of the main hospital.

EEJit

And another judging with hindsight

Not at all. Some of us already knew how incompetent he was when he was Mayor of London. The money wasted on the bridge project - some of which found it's way to his cronies.

Well Labour will be elected to run the country at the next election, so no doubt the Covid enquiry will run and run in order to further emphasise what a useless bunch the Tories are. But that won’t matter as magically all our woes will vanish with Sir Keir at the helm and we will sail forward into an era of harmony, prosperity and the successful rebuilding of a newly optimistic UK. Or not.

Amalegra

Well Labour will be elected to run the country at the next election, so no doubt the Covid enquiry will run and run in order to further emphasise what a useless bunch the Tories are. But that won’t matter as magically all our woes will vanish with Sir Keir at the helm and we will sail forward into an era of harmony, prosperity and the successful rebuilding of a newly optimistic UK. Or not.

Are you anticipating an early general election Amelgra, because Baroness Hallett said she intends to publish the report for the first area of work "as soon as possible" - hopefully by early summer 2024? I sincerely hope she achieves it before the election so that the facts are known before Labour come into power - ideally before the six week purdah. That way nobody can accuse Labour of influencing the painting of this government as anything other than what they are.

Philippa111

I am in no way a fan of this Tory set of useless and often corrupt and despicable individuals and I know this was and is a complete waste of money.
But reflecting on what is happening around our world at the moment we are fortunate to have had that resource even though it was totally off the mark.

I think everyone panicked with Covid and of course it was a situation that was wide open to corruption and ‘jobs for the boys’ of which the tories took full advantage.

Could these spaces not now be converted and used for people who are homeless, refugees etc.?

Braverman would surely ban the use of Nightingales for refugees - they would be akin to tented accommodation!

My chum is the Chairperson of a Trust which had a Nightingale Hospital.
Apart having to recruit agency staff and transfer hospital staff to the site,
the biggest problem they had was everytime it was used (they tried not to use) they had to get the Fire brigade on 24 hr standby on site , due to the O2 in use.
It was never a straightforward, my chum and the team decommissioned ASAP far too expensive to run.

I despise politics with a vengeance and have no allegiance to any party. I also dislike armchair 'politicians'. Buffoon Boris was always going to be a disaster as PM, that was obvious from his London Mayor days, but he's all we had at the time. Yes, he made a ton of mistakes, many of which could be seen to be mistakes the moment he announced them, and he certainly seemed to enjoy the pandemic far more then most did. However, unless one is willing to throw one's hat into the ring and actually put one's money where one's mouth is, that is; actively participate in politics with the aim of becoming an MP to actually incite change, one should NOT bang on about how the government "Should have done this, or that". or "They shouldn't have done that!". (Apart from anything else, we're not privy to to ALL the facts and circumstances that inform these decisions). To sum it up, 'Those than can, DO. Those that can't or won't, CRITICISE'. I know I wouldn't touch a political career with a barge pole, so there's no way I'm qualified to say what they should or shouldn't have done, (just like the majority of commenters here). The only thing we can do is place our 'x' a little more carefully next time and hope for better luck!

So how do you decide where to put your x if you don't have an opinion about how the country should be run?

I can remember the chilling feeling when those Nightingale hospitals were announced. It was at the time, before vaccines, when people were dying at a frightening rate, all over the world.

Over 1000 deaths a day in the UK including my DFiL

Sad that those special beds have been sold off at huge loss.
I hope a new use is found for the buildings.