An NHS hospital has erected two-bed emergency en-suite cabins for tired workers on the coronavirus frontline.
The Royal Berkshire Hospital installed the 40 cabins on the grounds of nearby Reading Boy’s School to allow staff to ‘rest and recharge’ or avoid a ‘long, tiring journey home’ after work.
It comes as selfless medics up and down the country reveal they are isolating themselves from friend’s and family to protect them – and their patients – from coronavirus as the crisis rages on.
An NHS hospital in Reading has erected two-bed emergency en-suite cabins for tired workers on the coronavirus frontline
Criticism has been rallied at the Government for not doing enough to protect NHS staff, namely not enough personal protective equipment (PPE) and a lack of testing.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock vowed to ramp up the number of tests to 100,000 by the end of the month.
The new accommodation in Reading – built by Caboose & Co who provide temporary luxury accommodations for festivals and events – can be used by staff who are battling the deadly bug outbreak.
The accommodation, with a bunk bed and an en-suite, is available to any staff member at The Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading
Royal Berkshire Hospital spokesperson said: ‘As part of a comprehensive package of care we’re providing for our staff, the 40 en suite rooms are available to any RBH employee in need of a convenient place to rest and recharge after their shifts and who would otherwise face a long, tiring journey home when they’ve finished work.
‘We’re very grateful to our neighbours at Reading Boy’s School for allowing us to erect these facilities on their site.
‘They complement other accommodation being made available to our staff by local hotels and they’re all examples of the amazing support we’ve had from organisations across the community.’
The Royal Berkshire Hospital installed the 40 cabins on the grounds of nearby Reading Boy’s School to allow staff to ‘rest and recharge’ or avoid a ‘long, tiring journey home’ after work
The new accommodation in Reading can be used by staff who are battling the deadly bug outbreak, which has killed more than 2,900 people in the UK alone
Royal Berkshire Hospital spokesperson said: ‘As part of a comprehensive package of care we’re providing for our staff, the 40 en suite rooms are available to any RBH employee’
Health Secretary Matt Hancock, pictured at the opening of the Nightingale Hospital in London today, suggested the UK’s lockdown will be in place until the end of April at the earliest
With NHS medics working long, hard hours caring for the sick and the elderly, many have decided to isolate themselves from loved ones.
In a heartbreaking video, tearful Chanice Cushion, who works at Southend Hospital in Essex, urged Brits to do all they can to minimise the spread of the virus as she shared her sadness at having to move away from her two-year-old daughter.
She said that she had made the decision with her partner to protect their daughter and her vulnerable mother-in-law, who has chronic asthma.
The cabins were described as a ‘convenient place to rest and recharge’ for staff members
Describing how her daughter was ‘going about her day as normal’ as she packed to leave, Chanice welled up and explained how she told her ‘mummy’s going away for a little while’.
She said: ‘She’s a two-year-old, she doesn’t understand. I left home earlier, and I said “mummy’s going away for a little while. Mummy’s got work.”‘
Nick Dennison, who works at Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey, made the ‘difficult choice’ to treat the country’s sickest patients, exposing himself to being infected – and has explained the personal sacrifices he and other NHS heroes have to make to battle the deadly Covid-19.
Mr Dennison says that ‘the public health message is not getting through’, adding that ‘a lot of people are going to die.’ He is now urging Britons to follow their Government’s advice and socially isolate.
In a moving Facebook post, Mr Dennison wrote: ‘My son turned three years old last week and is six weeks into a three year chemotherapy program for lymphoma. This virus is a big threat to his life and as I am going to be exposed this week doing my job, I can no longer live at home.’
Anaesthetist Jenny Hawkins, from Surrey, wrote on Facebook that she is moving out of the home she shares with her husband, who has cystic fibrosis, in order to protect him and to continue working on the frontline at Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust.
She asked people to listen to government advice so that she could return home to her husband soon, saying ‘I don’t think I’m asking you to sacrifice anywhere near what I’m having to.’
In a heartbreaking video, tearful Chanice Cushion, who works at Southend Hospital in Essex, urged Brits to do all they can to minimise the spread of the virus as she shared her heartbreak at having to move away from her two-year-old daughter
Earlier this week, more than 10,000 frontline NHS staff wrote to the Prime Minister to demand proper protective equipment amid growing anger that a lack of supplies is putting lives at risk.
Jenny Harries, the deputy chief medical officer, last night admitted there had been ‘distribution issues’ but insisted the UK had enough PPE to cope with the pandemic.
Millions of masks, gloves, aprons and other items were delivered to hospitals on Monday, the Government said, with the Army helping to get them out nationwide.
Chanice said: ‘She’s a two-year-old, she doesn’t understand. I left home earlier, and I said “mummy’s going away for a little while. Mummy’s got work.”‘
Import taxes on such clothing, ventilators and virus testing kits have also been waived to ease supply, the Chancellor said.
But, despite this, unions representing healthcare workers say their members are complaining in droves about shortages of safety equipment.
Furthermore, the UK’s testing capacity lags far behind that of Germany where 500,000 people are being tested every week.
It today it emerged that NHS staff swabs are being sent to the UK’s European neighbour because the results come back quicker than they do from British labs.