Temporary hospital ward opened to ease pressure

Nurse Catherine Hunter worked with a team of people to open the temporary ward

An NHS trust has opened a temporary hospital ward in a bid to ease winter pressures.

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust opened the 27-bed Newell Ward at City Hospital this month.

A similar ward is due to open at the city's Queen's Medical Centre (QMC) in the first week of January, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The wards are being introduced to ease the added strain of winter illnesses like the flu, norovirus and Covid.

Meanwhile, a number of wards across City Hospital and the QMC have been temporarily closed to keep illnesses like norovirus and the flu contained, according to Catherine Hunter, the trust's lead nurse for respiratory and heart services, who helped to open the ward.

The Newell Ward will be used to treat and care for patients with a variety medical conditions, the trust said

The ward is planned to be open for the next four months but Ms Hunter said this "might change depending on how we go".

She added those being treated in the Newell Ward were patients "that potentially would have been on a corridor somewhere".

Christina Royston, Newell Ward manager said: "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.

"Alleviating some of those pressures will obviously give them a better patient experience rather than having wards that are overflowing."

She added there was a good turnaround of patients staying on the ward.

Dave Hunt said he was happy with the care his mother received on the ward

Mary Hunt, 87, has been on the ward since Monday, after being transferred from QMC with a chest infection.

Her son David Hunt praised the care she had received.

He said: "I think it's been very good, they have done a fantastic job and looked after her very well."

As of 12 December, there were 105 patients across City Hospital and QMC with the flu – an increase of 30 patients compared with the same day the previous week.

Norovirus levels in the hospitals are in line with the national average increase, currently sitting 27.4% higher than the seasonal average, the LDRS said, with roughly 500 to 600 patients going through QMC's emergency department each day.