Latest News
HSJ Exclusive: Mass expansion of rehab beds for covid planned

- Health systems in the North West have been asked to prepare plans for up to 900 community-based beds
- Beds would be dispersed across multiple localities, and could be similar to the Seacole model introduced in Surrey
- If repeated nationally — as is likely — it could mean more than 6,000 rehab beds being created by winter
- “Unsuitable” Nightingale Hospital has been mothballed after treating just over 100 patients
The NHS in the North West has been asked to prepare plans for up to 900 community-based beds for patients recovering from coronavirus and respiratory illnesses – as the “unsuitable” Nightingale Hospital has been mothballed.
Several senior sources in the region said NHS England’s regional directorate wanted leaders to make suggestions for how the beds – which would follow the “Seacole” model being used in Surrey — could be provided by the end of the autumn months.
It may be an indication of a likely national plan to expand bed capacity across England ahead of a possible second peak of covid-19 demand in the winter. Crudely, if the 900 figure was repeated in other regions, it may amount to more than 6,000 additional beds England-wide.
Read full article
Source: HSJ