Published date: 28 May 2020
Reconfiguring space in three days to provide a ‘hot’ site for patients with COVID-19 symptoms
Ore Clinic, Hastings
Background
Site: Health clinic in East Sussex.
Customers/Stakeholders: Sussex Integrated Care System (ICS), East Sussex Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust, East Sussex Hospital Trust, Sussex Community Foundation Trust
NHSPS representatives: Christine Orme, Facilities Coordinator, Susan Swaffer, Regional Partnership Director (South East), Kate Henry, Senior Property Manager, Zahra Lyamani, Property Manager
Customer feedback
“Thank you for the sterling effort that has been put in to turn The Ore Clinic into a great hot site. It has taken a tremendous amount of work and the NHSPS team should all be extremely proud of what they have achieved.”
Maggie Keating, Urgent and Emergency Care Programme Director, Sussex ICS
The challenge
Although the majority of COVID-19 related patient treatment is handled in acute hospitals, there is some need for the primary care estate (e.g. GP surgeries and community hospitals) to find and repurpose space for this too. These are called ‘hot’ sites.
We were approached by the ICS and CCG in early April 2020 to support a modular provision on a nearby acute site, however we identified Ore as a more valid alternative, which would deliver a quicker solution.
The space had previously been used as a children’s centre and clinic, and would need reconfiguring to create different zones for infection control.
Due to the nature of the site being ‘hot’, it would also require an enhanced cleaning regime.
The solution
Working across Asset Management and Facilities Management, NHSPS teams moved quickly to prepare and repurpose the space.
We took out a kitchen to create a shower room, created three different zones within the building to meet stringent Infection Control Precautions (IPC) requirements. Separating ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ areas of the site (i.e. for COVID-19 and non COVID-19 patients) also required a new access route to be provided at very short notice, working with a local provider to lay down a temporary footpath surface in the space of an afternoon.
We then worked with a cleaning supplier to arrange daily deep cleans whilst the ‘hot’ site is in operation.
The impact
In the space of three days we have reconfigured the space to provide treatment for patients showing COVID-19 symptoms, as well as providing clean and safe access areas and routes for clinical and admin staff.
This will help to take pressure off the nearby acute hospital (The Conquest), and help keep staff and patients using the site safe.
Learn more about our COVID-19 activity
We recommissioned and reconfigured space across our estate during COVID-19 to provide additional capacity for treatment and testing, delivering space for over 1,000 beds.
