NHS Nightingale Hospital North East
The NHS Nightingale Hospital North East is one of the temporary NHS Nightingale Hospitals set up by NHS England to help to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. It was constructed inside the Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Advanced Manufacturing, Washington.Background
To add extra critical care capacity during the COVID-19 epidemic in England, and to treat those with COVID-19, plans were made to create further temporary hospital spaces for those in need of treatment and care. They have been named "Nightingale Hospitals", after Florence Nightingale who came to prominence for nursing soldiers during the Crimean War and is regarded as the founder of modern nursing.Details
The site will have 460 beds available with the building divided into 16 wards. It will be operated by Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The hospital has been prepared by the British Armed forces working with the local NHS Trusts. County Durham MP Richard Holden said when announcing the hospital on 10 April that is expected to be open for patients in the following two weeks.
The hospital was officially opened on 5 May 2020, in a virtual ceremony, by Matt Hancock. The opening ceremony also featured television celebrities Ant and Dec, football pundit Alan Shearer and cricketer Ben Stokes.
It is not a conventional walk-in hospital - only patients who are already inpatients in other hospitals in the region and meet certain criteria will be admitted. They will stay at the hospital until they are assessed as being ready to move back to a local hospital.
