Temporary Hospital Ward Opens in Nottingham to Address Winter Demand

To alleviate winter pressures, an NHS trust has established a temporary hospital ward. Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust inaugurated the 27-bed Newell Ward at City Hospital during the current month. The Local Democracy Reporting Service reported that a comparable ward is scheduled to commence operations at the city’s Queen’s Medical Centre (QMC) in the initial week of January. These wards are being implemented to mitigate the increased burden from seasonal ailments such as the flu, norovirus, and Covid. Concurrently, several wards at both City Hospital and the QMC have been temporarily shut down to prevent the spread of illnesses including norovirus and the flu, as stated by Catherine Hunter, the trust’s lead nurse for respiratory and heart services, who was involved in opening the new ward. The Newell Ward is projected to operate for the forthcoming four months, though Ms Hunter noted this “might change depending on how we go”. She further commented that individuals receiving care in the Newell Ward were patients “that potentially would have been on a corridor somewhere”. Christina Royston, the Newell Ward manager, remarked: “At the moment, we haven’t really seen too much of a spike [specifically in the ward] in the flu, Covid and RSV viruses – a lot of the pressure is the elderly.” She continued, “Alleviating some of those pressures will obviously give them a better patient experience rather than having wards that are overflowing.” Ms. Royston also mentioned a high turnover rate for patients admitted to the ward. Mary Hunt, aged 87, has been a patient on the ward since Monday, having been transferred from QMC due to a chest infection. Her son, David Hunt, commended the care provided to her. He stated: “I think it’s been very good, they have done a fantastic job and looked after her very well.” On 12 December, a total of 105 patients across City Hospital and QMC were diagnosed with the flu, representing an increase of 30 patients compared to the corresponding day of the preceding week. The LDRS reported that norovirus levels within the hospitals align with the national average increase, presently exceeding the seasonal average by 27.4%. Additionally, approximately 500 to 600 patients are processed daily through QMC’s emergency department.