On the 27th March, Sir Simon Stevens announced that two new NHS Nightingale hospitals will open in Birmingham and Manchester.
The NEC in Birmingham will host 500 beds initially with the possibility to expand to 2,000 if required.
The Manchester Central Complex will also have 500 beds with expansion to 1,000 beds if required.
The hospitals will support COVID-19 patients in the Midlands and the North West.
The new hospitals will be made up of NHS staff predominantly, although as of today, airlines Easy Jet and Virgin Atlantic will be writing to their staff asking them to volunteer.
The NHS chief executive, Sir Simon Stevens, said:
“It will take a monumental effort from everyone across the country to beat this epidemic, but the NHS is mobilising like never before to deliver care in new ways, to thousands more people – starting with the opening of the first NHS Nightingale in London later next week.”
“These are extraordinary steps the NHS is taking, and clinicians, managers and military planners are working day and night to create, equip and staff these hospitals from scratch and prepare for the surge that is likely to be coming.”
“While we continue to pull out all the stops, we do need the public to play their part.”
“Every single person in this country can make a difference by following the medical advice to the letter – stay at home, wash your hands, which will help stop the virus letting rip and will therefore save lives.”
The scale of the NHS Nightingale hospitals can be seen here:
