Coronavirus: Work on temporary morgue at RAF Woodhall Spa now under way, Lincolnshire Resilience Forum confirms
Work is now under way to create a temporary morgue at a former RAF base in Lincolnshire.
The facility at RAF Woodhall Spa, near Coningsby, is being created to help the county cope should it experience a surge in Covid-19 related deaths.
It is being co-ordinated by the Lincolnshire Resilience Forum, a multi-agency group that includes emergency services, local authorities, the health sector and volunteer groups.
There has also been some extra morgue capacity added to Lincoln County Hospital with Lincolnshire County Council funding the extra provision.
It comes as latest figures show the number of coronavirus cases in the county increased from 669 on Wednesday to 712 on Thursday (April 23).
There have been 86 deaths related to Covid-19 reported by United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust, with 12 recorded over the five days from April 18 and 22.
North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Peterborough, Stamford and Hinchinbrooke hospitals, has seen 83 deaths, of which 16 occurred over those five days.
Chairman of the Lincolnshire Resilience Forum, Deputy Chief Constable, Jason Harwin, said morgue capacity had not been reached but preparations must be made.
He said: “As part of our emergency plans for a pandemic, we carry out a lot of precautionary work so we can prepare for the worst case scenario.
“We are not at that point yet in Lincolnshire, however we cannot be complacent. Ensuring we have access to any extra facilities and specialist services, is a critical process we must carry out.
"We have secured national agreement to use the former RAF Woodhall Spa as a potential mortuary site, in the event of our existing capacity being exceeded, and work is continuing at the site as part of these preparations."
Work has also begun on a temporary morgue at Marshall Aerospace and Defence in Cambridge, to cover the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough area. It will be provided within a re-fabricated building inside a hangar.
Rutland County Council confirmed there are no plans for one in their county, although work is well underway to provide extra morgue capacity in a vacant building on the Leicester General Hospital site.
Tom Purnell, Leicestershire County Council’s assistant chief executive – speaking on behalf of the Local Resilience Forum – said: “We have plans in place to make sure that we can cope, and have been working together across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland to prepare – starting with the opening of some of the additional mortuary space at the General Hospital.
“The additional capacity will allow us to cope with increased demand so that our NHS colleagues can provide their usual dignified and respectful care for patients.
“We’re also working closely with faith communities and want to make sure we reassure people that their wishes will be respected as far as possible.”
Statistics show there have been 13 confirmed Covid-19 cases in Rutland.
Hospital trusts covering the county have seen deaths rise over the five-day period from April 18 to 22.
At Kettering General Hospital there have been a total of 78 deaths, up 10. And at the three hospitals covered by University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust there have been a total of 177 deaths, a rise of 13 in those five days.
As of Thursday, a total of 18,738 UK hospital patients have died after testing positive for Covid-19. This does not include those who died in the community.
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