A 'NIGHTINGALE' surge hub on the site of the Lister Hospital could be caring for Covid patients by the end of the month, it has emerged – but hospital chiefs are hoping it will remain empty.

With record daily cases of Covid nationwide and the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, the NHS is preparing for a potential surge in patients.

And the facility at the Lister is planned to be part of a network of 'surge hubs' across the country – creating up to 4,000 additional beds nationwide.

According to Adam Sewell-Jones – the new chief executive of the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust – the hub will sit directly outside the main entrance to the Stevenage hospital.

Work on the site, he says, is expected to begin within days – with the hub then able to care for patients by the end of the month.

But in a written report to the Trust board – which is due to meet on Wednesday (January 12) – he stresses that they hope it will not need to be used.

"As with the Nightingale hospitals built in 2020, we hope this space never needs to be used," he said.

"However, with record numbers of Covid infections, it is right that we create this additional space for beds now in case they are needed."

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According to the report there will be 'dramatic changes' at the hospital's Plaza area – which sits outside the main entrance – 'in the coming days'.

Initially, says Mr Sewell-Jones, there will be preparatory groundwork – and then the construction works will begin 'in earnest'.

"The intention is that the Nightingale Surge Hub will be ready for use in late January, should it be required," he says in the written report.

And he reports that "This Nightingale capacity is in addition to our existing detailed and comprehensive surge plans and would be based on a different clinical model being discussed and confirmed nationally."

In his report to the Trust board, Mr Sewell-Jones said that as of January 4 there were 63 patients with Covid-19 being treated in the Lister Hospital – and that these numbers were 'increasing on a daily basis'.

Meanwhile, he said that – 'whilst manageable' – staffing levels at the Trust were 'challenging at this current time', And he highlighted the 'great commitment' from staff over the Christmas and New Year period.