Coronavirus: How Transformed Headley Court Is Helping Recovering COVID-19 Patients

A former defence medical rehabilitation centre is being used to assist patients recovering from COVID-19.

Headley Court previously played a crucial role in rehabilitating injured soldiers who had arrived back from Iraq and Afghanistan.

It was handed over to the NHS in 2018 and is now being used as a community hospital for patients recovering from coronavirus.

On 4 May, it re-opened as the NHS Seacole Centre – named after Jamaican-born pioneering nurse Mary Seacole, who treated soldiers wounded in the Crimean War.

The facility is the first-of-its-kind in England, with capacity for 300 inpatient beds.

The first patient to be admitted was 82-year-old artist Michael Kidd, who is now preparing to return home.

He told Forces News: "It [coronavirus] came as a surprise, I would say, but you learn to live with it, deal with it, because it’s pointless not dealing with it – you just go downhill if you do.

"I’m really looking forward to seeing my lovely wife, my son, my other son, my two grandsons," he added.

Medical staff are currently treating 15 patients who have been transferred following time in intensive care.

Last week, the NHS Seacole Centre warned it was facing a "new upsurge" in follow-up care demand.

It is providing coronavirus survivors with both mental and physical therapy.

The facility's clinical director, Dr Hilary Floyd, said a handful of patients have been in the hospital for a "very, very long time".

While she said some have recovered from "some really nasty illness with COVID", she also warned some have "really deconditioned" as a result of the virus.

"Whereas as they [some patients] were fit and able to live an independent life, they’re now struggling to really even get out of bed and move around,” Dr Floyd added.

Among those still recovering is former soldier Peter.

He has lost eight kilogrammes since falling ill with coronavirus and said a recent walk down the ward was the furthest he had managed in nearly 9 weeks.

He said he is now looking forward to returning home and seeing his wife again.

There are plans for more similar facilities around the country to be opened up to help aid recovering COVID-19 patients back to full health.