Hospital in Bristol on the frontline in the fight against future pandemics
Southmead Hospital named a designated centre for managing dangerous airborne infections
Last updated 24th Jun 2025
A hospital in Bristol has been designated a specialist unit for treating people with dangerous airborne infections.
It means patients transferred to Southmead Hospital can be treated in a dedicated isolation unit or a space in intensive care.
It is one of only seven centres in the country and the only one in the South West - for the care of adults with Airborne High Consequence Infectious Diseases (HCID), such as MERS and Avian Flu.
HCIDs are rare in the UK so the number of patients likely to require treatment in the North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT) Treatment Centre at Southmead is low.
They require specific infection prevention and control measures to prevent their spread, such as isolation areas and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE).
Ankur Gupta-Wright, one of the HCID Lead Consultants at Southmead Hospital, said: "Being able to provide this service in Bristol means we can look after patients with Airborne HCIDs closer to home, and provides NBT and the region with more resilience for future epidemics or pandemics.”
Chief Nursing Officer, Professor Steve Hams, said: “We are proud to be recognised as one of just seven designated Airborne High Consequence Infectious Disease (HCID) centres in the country, a role that enables us to provide specialist care for patients with the most complex Airborne infectious diseases.
"This achievement reflects the significant growth and development of our infectious diseases team at NBT in recent years, and highlights our emergence as a true centre of excellence for expert, compassionate care.”
Professor Dominic Mellon, Regional Deputy Director for Health Protection (South West) at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) added: “The establishment of this new HCID unit at Southmead Hospital is an example of how we continue to prepare for and develop our response capabilities for emerging infectious diseases and pandemics.
“The UKHSA South West regional team continues to work with its partners to plan for outbreaks, incidents and emergencies, to train alongside our NHS colleagues, and to test our plans and procedures through exercises and simulations. The North Bristol NHS Trust team continue to demonstrate their strong commitment to working with their local and regional partners to protect the public’s health.”