Hospital takes part in ‘Ebola’ exercise

Staff at Harrogate District Hospital took part in a simulated exercise to test its ability to deal with an ‘infectious patient’ this morning.
Harrogate District HospitalHarrogate District Hospital
Harrogate District Hospital

Ambulances with police escorts were spotted leaving the hospital on Wetherby Road this morning, the hospital has confirmed this was part of this exercise.

Chris Watt, Head of Communications at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust and North Yorkshire Police are working together today (Friday 28 November) to test their plans on providing care to an infectious patient and safely transferring them to a specialist unit.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Sheffield’s Royal Hallamshire Hospital is one of four hospitals nationwide where patients will be treated if an Ebola outbreak happens in the UK.

Hospitals in the London, Newcastle and Liverpool have also been selected

Dr David Throssell, medical director for Sheffield Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The risk of Ebola arriving in the UK remains very low and it can only be caught through direct contact with an infected person’s bodily fluids.”

Two young children have been tested for the disease at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary, though Public Health England say an Ebola diagnosis is ‘very unlikely.’

Related topics: