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IN PICTURES: Keys to field hospital handed over

IN PICTURES: Keys to field hospital handed over

Wednesday 06 May 2020

IN PICTURES: Keys to field hospital handed over

Wednesday 06 May 2020


Express took a look inside the near-finished £14.4m field hospital as it was officially handed over to the Health Department yesterday.

Work at the Millbrook-based Nightingale facility began around one month ago, and was overseen by the Department of Growth, Housing and Environment (GHE) and J3.

It was commissioned in order to ensure the island has spare hospital bed capacity if local cases of covid-19 increase.

The 150m by 30m facility contains six wards, each with 30 beds.

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Pictured: A rainbow wall filled with islanders' art features in the new facility.

It also includes areas for patient admissions and discharge, staff changing and rest facilities and a morgue, as well as a special wall filled with pictures of rainbows drawn and painted by islanders for staff to enjoy.

Although numbers of islanders with covid-19 requiring hospital treatment remain low - just seven at the time of writing - it is expected that this number will increase as lockdown measures gradually lift.

Acknowledging the cost of the facility as he announced its creation last month, the Chief Minister said he hoped it wouldn't have to be used, but nonetheless stated: "We cannot allow Islanders to die because we wouldn’t spend the money that would save their lives.”

The construction process was managed by J3 - a local company linked with the McAlpine Group, which helped with the construction of Nightingale hospitals in Manchester and Glasgow - while a number of local contractors also donated their goods and services.

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Pictured: A shower facility.

Yesterday, contractors handed over the keys to the facility - the main elements of which are now all complete - to the Health Department.

Chief Nurse Rose Naylor, Clinical Lead Simon Chapman, GHE Director General Andy Scate and J3 Director Marc Burton were all there.

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Pictured: Staff are now being trained at the facility.

Finishing touches will now be added to Jersey's Nightingale facility, while staff will be trained in the equipment.

It will then be officially opened via video link by the Earl and Countess of Wessex - the Queen's youngest son, Prince Edward and his wife, Sophie - on Monday 11 May.

GALLERY: Take a tour inside...

(Photography courtesy of Gary Grimshaw)

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