Bucks NHS Trust set to use hotel as ‘temporary facility’ due to Covid surge

Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust has announced that they will be using a hotel as a ‘temporary care facility’ due to the surge of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

The Trust says it has worked closely with Buckinghamshire Council to reconfigure the Olympic Lodge Hotel in Stoke Mandeville, and that patients will be arriving there as early as next week.

The announcement comes as Covid-19 cases have begun to rise again in Buckinghamshire, with a 27% increase in the latest week. Buckinghamshire has also just recorded its highest weekly death toll since March last year.

Jenny Ricketts, Director of Community Transformation for the Trust, said: “When our patients no longer need to be in a hospital bed, it is better for their ongoing recovery to return to the comfort of their own home as soon as possible.

“This unit will provide a safe and suitable environment for patients to regain their confidence and independence. It will also provide some of the extra capacity we need through the winter period.”

Bucks Radio reached out for further assurances regarding the plans from Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust and they provided the following clarification: The whole building has been transformed into a step-down nursing and care facility, not a hospital, and is no longer a hotel.  It is a temporary solution until 31 March 2022 when it is expected the facility will no longer be needed.

Sarah Winchester, Consultant Public Health for Buckinghamshire Council, said: "Both nationally and locally, daily new infections with Covid-19 seem to have passed a peak in early January.

"In Buckinghamshire, as in many other places, in the last two weeks we have seen an increase in the number of recorded infections in people aged up to 19 years and in those aged 30-44 years, with continuing decreases in all other age groups. This is most likely associated with young people attending school since going back after the holiday and their parents.

"This is not a cause for concern, but it is an important reminder that the pandemic is not over yet.

"Fortunately, the number of people dying from Covid-19 remains low and there has been no indication that these numbers are increasing significantly.

“And whilst people are still being admitted to hospital because of Covid-19 infections, the number of people in hospital with Covid-19 is starting to fall locally.

“Buckinghamshire Council has worked closely with our NHS colleagues to support patients who are ready to be discharged from hospital but have ongoing care needs to free up hospital beds for those who need them most."