Tottenham Hotspur stadium hosts staff testing, pregnancy scanning and antenatal clinics for North Mid as community tackles Covid-19 challenges
The Spurs stadium in Tottenham is to host a drive-through staff swabbing service and a range of antenatal and gynaecology services for women, as part of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club’s generous support for the NHS during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The stadium is the first Premier League ground to be used for NHS staff swabbing, which started on Wednesday 8 April 2020, and will accommodate up to 70 individuals being tested each day, supporting local healthcare workers to come back to work as soon as possible.
A major section of the stadium building has been repurposed and fitted out to house antenatal clinics, pregnancy scanning, a maternal day unit, and a range of support services, to allow the transfer of women’s outpatient services down to the stadium from Tuesday 14 April 2020. The move frees up capacity at North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust's main site in Edmonton and ensures pregnant women are able to stay away from the main hospital during the pandemic if they only require routine ante-natal care.
This will result in recognisable areas of the Spurs stadium being transformed for clinical use:
• The media entrance and café will be used as a main reception and welfare area for visitors and NHS staff
• The NFL Away changing room areas will be used for maternity care
• The Flash interview rooms off of the players’ tunnel – where post-match TV interviews are normally conducted – as well as the referees’ area, will be used as consultation rooms
• The football Away dressing room areas, as well as the doping control room, will be used as a maternity clinic and administrative hub
The Women’s Outpatient Clinic will operate Monday – Saturday and will see up to 70 patients visit every day with up to 30 staff on site at any one time.
Staff in our women’s services team have already begun contacting patients who have upcoming appointments to advise them of location changes and explain where to go for their appointments.
Maria Kane, Chief Executive of North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust, said: “We are so grateful to Tottenham Hotspur for providing their wonderful facilities for our staff, patients, and local community during these difficult times.”