Deeside field hospital to remain in place through through Winter

The Welsh government has said it is to cut the number of temporary field hospitals from 19 to 10.

The field hospitals were established “in a matter of weeks” at the start of the Covid crisis to provide thousands of additional beds for due to a predicted increase in hospital admissions during the Coronavirus pandemic..

In an update today, health minister Vaughan Gething said Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has agreed to retain the three north Wales ‘Rainbow Hospital’ at the Deeside Leisure Centre, the Brailsford Centre at Bangor University and Venue Cymru in Llandudno.

A number of additional beds will also be made available in existing Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board hospital sites to secure an overall total of 1,198 additional beds.”

Mr Gething said, across Wales, over 5000 additional beds will be “retained at scale for the remainder of 2020/2021.”

“We will continue to monitor the situation and a further review will be undertaken following the submission of health board plans later in the year to consider any requirement for further capacity plans in 2021/22.”

Based on data modelling and “ongoing learning from the first peak, health boards were asked to retain 5000 beds across Wales to enable safe management of a potential realistic worst case scenario caused by a spike in emergency admissions to hospital beds.” Said Mr Gething.

The health minister said: “The winter period is always challenging for our health and social care system. However, COVID-19 has added a further dimension to the usual challenges presented by influenza, adverse weather and exacerbations of chronic respiratory conditions often resulting in increased emergency admissions.

“In the spring, 19 field hospitals were established around Wales in a matter of weeks to provide thousands of additional beds for a significant predicted increase in hospital admissions for patients suffering from the virus.”

Mr Gething said: “As we approach this winter, and with the recent rise in COVID-19 cases, it is highly likely health and social care services will require additional capacity to manage increasing demand for services.

We must ensure we retain access to sufficient additional bed capacity to manage any increase in admissions of patients with COVID-19.”

The temporary hospital in Deeside has remained unused so far during the pandemic.