The NHS Nightingale hospital built to cater to Covid-19 patients in Birmingham, UK has been opened by Prince William.
Prince William addressed healthcare, military and civilian personnel at the temporary field hospital via video link, reported BBC.
The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) houses the new site, which was built in eight days. University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust (UHB) will operate the Nightingale hospital.
The new hospital is meant to accept patients from 23 Midlands hospitals. With a 500-bed capacity, the hospital can be upgraded to hold 1,500 beds.
More than 400 civilian contractors, as well as military personnel and approximately 500 clinical staff were involved in constructing the hospital.
According to BBC, around 300 people are believed to have already volunteered to staff the site.
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By GlobalDataDuring the video call, Prince William said: “Let me start by reiterating all that has been said so far and paying tribute to the incredible work that NHS staff across the country have been doing to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.
“Their selfless commitment has touched the hearts of the entire nation. The Nightingale hospitals will rightly go down as landmarks in the history of the NHS.”
This announcement follows the opening of the first NHS Nightingale hospital, at London’s Excel centre, earlier this month.
Apart from Birmingham and London, NHS Nightingale hospitals are being built in Manchester, Sunderland, Exeter, Bristol and Harrogate, increasing the number of beds available for coronavirus patients.
The Exeter and Sunderland hospitals, which are set to be operational by the end of this month or early May, will add up to 700 beds.
Meanwhile, Bristol and Harrogate hospitals will be able to cater to approximately 1,000 and 500 patients, respectively.