Andy Burnham was quizzed about the possibiltiy of reopening the Covid Nightingale hospitals to reduce pressure on the NHS as he spoke on BBC Radio Manchester this morning.
The Labour mayor of Greater Manchester was supportive of the suggestion when he fielded questions from the public on how to help the 'overwhelmed' health service this winter.
It comes amid reports of long waits in A&E, crowded hospital corridors and ambulance services stretched. Callers on the mayor's weekly radio phone-in offered their own solutions to the 'crisis'.
READ MORE: Andy Burnham wants every taxpayer in Greater Manchester to pay at least £10 more each year
Sue from Worsley said: "If it was a good idea at the time, why is it not a good idea now? We're in a situation now where we really need solutions. We've got them. They're there. They're using agency staff and paying lots of money for that to fill holes in hospital staff rotas. Why not use that?"
Seven temporary hospitals - known as Nightingales - were set up across England to create extra critical care capacity during the pandemic including one at Manchester Central Convention Complex. However, the 750-bed facility at the GMEX closed in early 2021 when hospital admissions fell.
The Greater Manchester mayor ruled out reopening the Nightingale hospital at the GMEX, saying that the NHS could not afford to use it permanently. But he said the equipment used at the temporary hospitals should still be available.
Mr Burnham said the 'worrying situation' in the NHS is turning into a 'crisis', but he does not beleive it is being treated with the same level of urgency as Covid. He said lessons should be learned from the pandemic to help the NHS now.
He said: "The pressure on the NHS is actually landing now. Everyone thought we were going to be overwhelmed with Covid and we wouldn't be able to cope, hence we'll stand up these facilities and the truth is it got close at times, but it never actually got to the point where they were being overwhelmed.
"But they are being overwhelmed now and I think the learning from the Nightingale should be, can you find ways of standing up extra beds quickly in locations that could house them? Is there a way of applying the Nightingale principle now in a slightly different way to the way it was done during the pandemic?"
When the MEN contacted the Department for Health and Social Care for comment the government department did not address whether Nightingale hospitals could reopened, but referred instead to the latest plans to increase hospital bed availability set out by health secretary Steve Barclay this week.
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