READER LETTER: What a week to open the Nightingale

Wednesday 06 May 2020

What a great week to open our Millbrook Nightingale Hospital, with the news that the flagship London NHS Nightingale Hospital is being mothballed.

It has hardly been used, with the number of patients falling to just 19 last week!

How about the other Nightingale Hospitals?

• Birmingham has not taken a single patient since opening 10 days ago
• Harrogate has been placed on standby
• Bristol and Sunderland have just opened, and Exeter is due to open shortly
• Manchester has only taken a few patients but, as it was designed for the low-level care of patients recovering from covid 19, it is thought referrals are likely to increase as neighbouring hospitals “return to normal”

I suspect this is the route our government might take - despite there only being six patients currently in the General Hospital - in a vain attempt to justify the White Elephant at Millbrook.

Ron Mitchell, La Vieille Davisonnerie, St. Saviour