7,000 extra hospital beds created and critical care capacity doubled as Wales steps up coronavirus treatments

The Grange University Hospital will be opened by the end of this month, providing an extra 350 beds, and a further 36 beds will be provided at St Joseph’s Hospital in Newport.

First Minister Mark Drakeford said the extra hospital beds will "by and large" treat patients who are recovering rather than those in need of urgent care.

"There will be people recovering from coronavirus who are no longer infectious, and people recovering from other conditions too," he said.

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The Health Minister announced Wales' critical care capacity has more than doubled, to more than 350.

Currently 48 per cent of these beds are occupied and just over half of these are being used to care for people coronavirus.

Hospitals in Wales currently have 415 ventilators and a further 349 anaesthetic machines with ventilator capacity and 207 non-invasive ventilators. A further 1,035 ventilators are being ordered by NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership and through UK arrangements, Mr Gething confirmed.

The plans have been bolstered by a massive response from recently retired NHS staff returning to work – as 1,300 healthcare professionals have already responded and 1,200 registered GP locums are preparing to enter the NHS Wales workforce.

They will be supported by thousands of trainees.

Mr Gething said: “I have been overwhelmed by the response of health and care professionals to the calls we have made for their support. This is a humbling reminder of the commitment of our health and care staff.

“Over the last few days we have seen an increase in the pace and urgency of the response across Wales to prepare vital health and care services to meet the imminent challenges posed by coronavirus.”

Dr Andrew Goodall, chief executive of NHS Wales, said: “Across Wales, training has been provided to upskill hundreds of staff who do not normally work in critical care.

“Extra areas have been identified in hospitals to provide more invasive ventilation to patients over and above the space normally available in critical care units. This is in addition to those areas identified as surge capacity for critically ill patients as part of existing plans to double capacity when needed.

“Health boards are working to ensure people who are critically ill are treated in our hospitals using existing and additional capacity.”