As part of the local response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the NHS in Lancashire and South Cumbria are working with the support of the Local Resilience Forum (LRF) to consider the latest national bed modelling for COVID-19 and what this means for Lancashire.
We have to plan for all contingencies as part of our county's response to the coronavirus pandemic, and some of the plans we must make are around securing additional community bed capacity for COVID-19 patients.
To address this need, work has started this week, led by Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust, to establish a temporary 150-bed community recovery centre based at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) in Preston with support from the military, Lancashire Fire and Rescue and local contractors.
It is anticipated that this temporary facility will be in operation initially for 12 weeks and will be for the entire county.
The facility will only be activated if required. We are hoping it may not be needed but preparing in case it is. That will partly depend on continuing public support for measures to reduce growth in the infection rate by staying at home to save lives.
If this facility is required, it will allow us to provide additional community step down beds. These additional community beds will support the care sector and older people who cannot currently be discharged back home – and free up acute beds for those who need them most More details about the centre are still being agreed and will be shared in due course.
