News Release – St Hugh’s Set to Support NHS Throughout Coronavirus Crisis
Thursday 23rd April 2020
St Hugh’s Hospital in Grimsby is supporting the NHS with its fight against coronavirus, in a first-of-its-kind deal with NHS England and independent healthcare providers.
The hospital – owned by the Registered Charity, The Healthcare Management Trust – treats both NHS and private patients and has restructured its facility in support of the battle against COVID-19.
On Tuesday 23rd March, shortly before the Prime Minister Boris Johnson initiated a countrywide lockdown, the management teams from St Hugh’s Hospital and Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust (NLaG) made the unprecedented decision to suspend all elective surgery in order to restructure and share resources appropriately across Northern Lincolnshire.
Since then, St Hugh’s Hospital’s 160-strong workforce has undergone additional training so they can remain flexible in their approach to supporting the NHS and implement a number of different care models within a matter of hours, in line with expected surges in demand.
The hospital contains 29 beds with piped oxygen, two state-of-the-art operating theatres and on-site diagnostics and is ideally positioned to support Diana Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby and the broader health and care system’s response.
Staff at St Hugh’s will be able to perform urgent diagnostic and surgical treatment for non-COVID-19 patients and, if demand increases at Diana Princess of Wales Hospital, provide additional beds for the treatment of Covd-19 patients.
Earlier this month, St Hugh’s provided three additional ventilators to Diana Princess of Wales Hospital to increase the provision of intensive care beds.
These developments build on the increasing amount of support St Hugh’s has offered to the NHS in recent years; over 80% of its activity in the last 12 months was provided to the NHS by the not-for-profit hospital.
Praising the North East Lincolnshire healthcare system, Ashley Brown, Hospital Director at St Hugh’s, said: “I have worked closely with all local providers for a number of years and the coronavirus pandemic is warranting even stronger collaborative leadership across the NHS, GP surgeries, Care Plus Group, St Andrew’s Hospice and Navigo.
“We are monitoring the fast-moving situation closely, learning from data from across the UK, and we are in talks daily about how to share facilities, staffing and equipment in order to be most effective in our fight against the virus.
“As a system, we are working to ensure patients have access to the most appropriate care when needed, and it is hugely reassuring to see the level of local planning – and particularly the sharing of resources among providers in Grimsby.
“It has been amazing to witness how our workforce has adapted to additional training and the willingness of the team in stepping up to the challenge.
“This will place us in the best possible position to provide care during the pandemic, and I’m sure the benefits of such a collaborative approach will be long lasting following the recovery phase.”
Dr Peter Reading, Chief Executive of Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS FT added: ‘I’d like to thank St Hugh’s Hospital and its management team for the support they were offering the local NHS at a very difficult time.’
The Healthcare Management Trust is a charitable organisation and no profit will be made from any activities during the period of its direct contract with NHS England.
To find out more about St Hugh’s Hospital, visit: www.hmtsthughs.org