Charlie Parker said that the peak of the pandemic in Jersey was still ‘some weeks’ away, while also revealing that the first two 30-bed wards of the new Nightingale Hospital at Millbrook would open on
4 May. Volunteers for the Nightingale Hospital are being sought to help staff the temporary facility.
And although the chief executive conceded that the number of confirmed cases had grown relatively slowly to this point, Mr Parker said he expected ‘significant rises’ once results from the stepped-up testing regime were coming in, and described
this phase as the Island’s ‘biggest challenge’.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Mr Parker said that he had received a number of positive comments about how the government’s message had been conveyed, but acknowledged the frustration of many Islanders.
‘I don’t believe that you can satisfy public demand – there are large numbers of people in social isolation, away from their normal daily environments, and they are fearful, which gives them an insatiable appetite for information,’ he said. ‘But in dealing with an emergency you need to strike a balance that also allows time to make decisions and implement those decisions.
‘I do know ministers recognise that Islanders want more details and for information to be shared as quickly as possible, and that government can better balance the time we spend making decisions and the time we spend explaining those decisions to the public.’
Mr Parker said ministers wanted to answer Islanders’ queries, directly and through the media, and planned to do this more frequently, with a greater ‘rhythm’ to communications.
Further details about testing were shared by the chief executive. He said that 4,500 ‘swab’ tests to confirm whether a patient had Covid-19 were being used at a rate of 120 tests per day, with another 10,000 tests due to arrive in early May and the possibility of other smaller batches being secured in the meantime.
The first batch of antibody testing kits, which would establish whether someone had already had coronavirus and might therefore be immune, were being tested at the Hospital, Mr Parker said, and that this should allow this type of testing to begin ‘within seven to ten days’.
Ahead of the opening of the ‘semi-temporary’ Nightingale Hospital on 4 May, Mr Parker said there was currently capacity within the General Hospital and Overdale, which currently had an overall total of 72 inpatients and 125 empty beds. He added that there were 21 patients with confirmed Covid-19 in the General Hospital, and a further eight in other Health Department settings.
More data about the number of patients who had recovered from a Covid-19 diagnosis would be provided soon, the chief executive added, but it was necessary to be certain about the data.
The new Nightingale Hospital would make use of an onsite oxygen generator which would cut the Island’s present reliance on bottled oxygen, he said, and would be able to be repurposed in the future.
Care homes had been given greater support, Mr Parker said, with direct support from clinicians going to those facilities where it was needed, and a more co-ordinated Islandwide approach to personal protective equipment.
‘We have an expert panel of clinicians who assess each PPE request, to ensure that the right equipment is given to provide the level of protection needed, and we have set up a cell to co-ordinate requests, deliveries, stock and distribution on-Island through an online portal.’
An order for more than a million items of PPE had been placed last week, said Mr Parker, and this would begin arriving this week.
