Too close to home for comfort.
North-east England gets a Nightingale hospital
After weeks of speculation, NHS England will today confirm the opening of a new Nightingale hospital to treat Covid-19 patients from across the north-east of England.
Work has been under way to transform a building at the Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Advanced Manufacturing near the Nissan car plant in Sunderland. The project has been managed by the Newcastle Hospitals health trust.
I understand up to 500 beds will be on the site for a range of patients suffering from coronavirus, including those on ventilators who need the highest level of critical care.
The north-east of England has been behind London when it comes to the spread of the virus, but health experts have warned this week that the region is on the “edge of the pandemic” and hospitals are rapidly starting to see more patients - and more deaths.
The South Tyneside and Sunderland health trust alone has now reported more than 100 deaths.
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