Covid had more impact on health services in NI, Swann tells inquiry

Disruption to infirmary attraction caused by Covid-19 successful Northern Ireland was greater than the remainder of the UK due to the fact that of the already strained authorities of its wellness service, erstwhile wellness curate Robin Swann has said.

He was asked astatine the UK Covid-19 Inquiry whether his determination successful 2020 to tract Northern Ireland’s Covid Nightingale infirmary successful the operation artifact astatine Belfast City Hospital (BCH) meant facilities were not disposable for crab care.

Mr Swann, who was Northern Ireland’s wellness curate during the pandemic, told the enquiry the infirmary was not the preferred tract for the Nightingale unit, but logistics prevented the installation being placed astatine a non-hospital site.

It wasn’t that we had to halt crab treatments successful regards to proviso the further captious attraction beds, it was the information that immoderate of those treatments and supports were displaced elsewhere

Robin Swann

The enquiry is examining the interaction the pandemic had connected healthcare systems.

Counsel Nick Scott asked the erstwhile curate astir the instauration of the Nightingale installation successful April 2020, erstwhile a portion to woody specifically with critically sick Covid patients was created.

Mr Scott showed a Department of Health briefing insubstantial which said a fig of non-hospital sites had been explored, including the Eikon Exhibition Centre adjacent Lisburn, the Titanic Exhibition Centre and Belfast Harbour Studios.

The papers said the Eikon centre was considered the astir suitable option, but it was not progressed owed to the magnitude of enactment which would person been required to alteration it into a aesculapian facility.

The barrister asked: “That is the crushed wherefore the Nightingale ended up successful the Belfast City Hospital tower, fundamentally due to the fact that the preferred enactment could not beryllium made acceptable successful time?”

Mr Swann replied: “That is correct.”

Mr Scott said: “Is that a reflection of the information that determination had been a deficiency of readying for a Nightingale astatine an earlier stage?”

Mr Swann said: “The enactment that would person had to beryllium done to marque oxygen available, to marque each the due aesculapian necessities disposable for captious attraction beds, the Eikon centre would person taken an inordinate magnitude of enactment to bring it up to presumption due to the fact that it is simply a ample accumulation centre, a warehouse, alternatively than the facilities which would go disposable by the adaptations of the operation artifact successful the City Hospital.”

Mr Scott asked if the Eikon centre could person been utilized if readying had begun earlier.

Mr Swann said: “In a roundabout mode I could agree, but there’s a quality betwixt readying to marque those changes and really putting carnal tract works successful spot that would person allowed america to enactment ICU beds into that facility.”

The barrister said: “Effectively the Belfast City Hospital operation was not the preferred option, you would person preferred it to beryllium elsewhere?”

Mr Swann said the Eikon would person been the preferred tract “if we’d had clip to bash that”.

Mr Scott pointed retired that siting the Nightingale astatine the BCH meant “you were putting it successful the mediate of the Regional Cancer Centre”.

He added: “What were the consequences for corruption prevention for those radical who were suffering from crab who were visiting the BCH portion having the Nightingale successful the mediate of the tower?”

Mr Swann said: “It was connected antithetic floors truthful determination was that segregation betwixt the proviso of further services that were wrong the operation arsenic good arsenic being capable to accommodate those floors that were being utilized for the Nightingale.”

Mr Scott asked if determination had been an interaction connected the quality to supply crab attraction due to the fact that facilities were being utilized for the Nightingale.

I deliberation it was thing that was much impacted successful Northern Ireland owed to the presumption and the authorities that the wellness work really went into anterior to Covid

Robin Swann

The erstwhile curate replied: “It wasn’t that those unit were being simply redeployed to the operation block; we had to measurement down definite specialities, definite provisions, that we privation we hadn’t had to person done so.

“But successful regards to beryllium capable to complement the additionality successful regards to captious care, referring backmost to the constituent of the availability and the services of staff, that was thing we did not person successful Northern Ireland astatine that point.”

Mr Scott continued: “If you hadn’t enactment the Nightingale successful the mediate of the BCH tower, you could, had you chosen to bash so, person continued to usage those facilities to supply crab care, is that not right?”

Mr Swann said: “It wasn’t that we had to halt crab treatments successful regards to proviso the further captious attraction beds, it was the information that immoderate of those treatments and supports were displaced elsewhere.

“Going backmost to the operational determination of the trusts, we had to measurement down services that we didn’t privation we had to successful regards to what we had to bash to enactment the Covid transportation of supporting patients.

“I deliberation it was thing that was much impacted successful Northern Ireland owed to the presumption and the authorities that the wellness work really went into anterior to Covid.”