Some planned healthcare delayed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic will now be carried out at NHS Louisa Jordan to help NHS Scotland recover.
Built at the beginning of the outbreak at the Scottish Events Campus (SEC) in Glasgow, the hospital will initially receive some orthopaedic outpatient consultations from July. If clinically successful, with positive patient experiences, it could be used to provide a wide range of postponed non-COVID planned healthcare.
The hospital will also be used for staff training, teaching and examinations thanks to the excellent clinical facilities and the space available to maintain physical distancing.
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman MSP said:
“As we resume some paused NHS services safely, carefully and in a series of stages, this national hospital will play an important role in helping our NHS recovery by providing planned healthcare for non-COVID outpatients.
“It will also ensure the sustainability of our NHS workforce as the clinical setting, alongside the ability to maintain physical distancing, will allow undergraduates and postgraduates to carry out training, teaching and examinations, and support training for the wider health and social care workforce in Scotland.
“By continuing to follow the clear public health advice, we can continue to suppress this virus in Scotland.”
Chief Nursing Officer Fiona McQueen said:
“The NHS Louisa Jordan has not been required to treat COVID-19 patients as we have been able to retain capacity in NHS Scotland thanks to our continued collective effort to tackle this pandemic.
“Should it be required, all training and planned non-COVID healthcare will be stopped and the hospital will be ready to accept COVID-19 patients at a few days’ notice.”
Kenneth Gibson MSP added:
“The SEC has one of the biggest and most popular entertainment arenas in the world, and while concerts and other mass gatherings have been put on hold due to the coronavirus, it makes sense to have it serve a different purpose.
“In April, the venue was transformed into the NHS Louisa Jordan hospital to provide extra capacity for the treatment of coronavirus patients. Fortunately it was never needed for that purpose.
“Now that Scotland has reached a stage where it is safe to resume more and more health services that had to be put on hold, it will serve as an excellent facility for NHS treatment and training purposes.”
The hospital was named after Glasgow born First World War nurse Sister Louisa Jordan who died on active service in Serbia in 1915 as part of the Scottish Women’s Hospitals for Foreign Services.
More information on NHS Louisa Jordan is available online.
ENDS
