EXTRA emergency support is being provided to the NHS in York as part of a major deal with the independent healthcare sector.

Under the partnership with NHS England, Ramsay Health Care UK is providing emergency capacity to the NHS from all of its hospitals.

This includes the provision of urgent acute, trauma, medical and cancer cases.

Clifton Park Hospital in York is part of Ramsay Health Care, which has 480 facilities across 11 countries, including 38 in England.

These provide a range of elective care specialties to insured, self-pay and NHS patients.

Clifton Park has a long-established relationship with York Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (YTH) and has made its entire hospital capacity and all staff available to help in the fight against Covid-19.

This involves a complete relocation of the orthopaedic fracture and trauma clinic from YTH to Clifton Park Hospital’s outpatient department where staff from the YTH are working alongside those at Clifton Park to ensure patients are followed up post-surgery.

The Cystic Fibrosis Outpatients service has also been relocated to CPH’s main hospital site, enabling essential drugs to be administered to this high-risk shielded group of patients in a sterile hospital setting.

Ceri Morgan, hospital director, said: “Clifton Park Hospital will do everything it takes to support York Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the people of York and its surrounding areas at this time of crisis.

"Our staff are ready to stand shoulder to shoulder with the NHS at the frontline to fight against Covid-19.”

Patients from the orthopaedic trauma ward which specialises in looking after those who have undergone surgery for Fracture Neck of Femur alongside those recuperating from other orthopaedic surgery will also be cared for on the 24-bed ward at CPH.

Specialist nurses will work alongside the ward’s existing nurses who have undergone additional training to ensure the patients receive ongoing care required.

To support the Trust’s critical care plan, members of Clifton Park’s theatre team have been trained in ICU care and have been deployed to YTH to work on the front line critical care areas and trauma theatres.

To help support the delivery of service, all anaesthetic machines with ventilators have been handed over to YTH.