Latest on NHS Nightingale as Bristol hospitals under extreme coronavirus pressure
It was built to provide more capacity for coronavirus patients
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Bristol s purpose-built Nightingale hospital is still not taking coronavirus patients, despite extreme pressure on neighbouring NHS facilities.
“I don t let grass grow under my feet”
“I don t let grass grow under my feet”
Hampshire-based optometrist Sarah Arnold tells
OT about the 150-year history of her family practice
8
We have three practices.
The one that I work in is in a town called Petersfield, a market town in the South Downs. It s a mainline train station to London Waterloo, so it s typical commuter belt: quite an affluent town, but it has pockets of poverty.
I was born here. It s a very well sought out area, because it s only about half an hour maximum drive to the coast. So, we re quite well situated: beautiful countryside, near London, near the sea, very family orientated.
Red tape blamed for only 5,000 of the 40,000 retired NHS workers who volunteered to return to fight Covid being given jobs
GP Claire Barker said she did not have the required 21 forms to work despite owning her practice for 30 years
Dr Brian Cooper, 73, one of 47,000 retired medics to sign up to the NHS s call for volunteers in April
They were supposed to be deployed to hospitals to get normal care up and running during Covid crisis
But Dr Cooper claims he was left in lurch for seven months then asked to do contact tracing work
ExCeL centre - the first site opened by NHS England amid the crisis, is seen practically deserted today
It would be the largest ICU in Europe if operational, capable of providing up to 500 intensive care beds
The venue is just one of England s nightingale hospitals lying in wait to be fully utilised, along with a site in Manchester, open for non-Covid care, and sites in Exeter and Harrogate open for specialist diagnostics