ExCel Centre To Become Emergency Hospital For Coronavirus Patients

Harry Rosehill
By Harry Rosehill Last edited 48 months ago

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ExCel Centre To Become Emergency Hospital For Coronavirus Patients
ExCel centre

The ExCel Centre in the Docklands is to be converted into an emergency hospital for coronavirus patients.

The hospital is to be called NHS Nightingale Hospital according to Health Secretary Matt Hancock. The hospital is named after Florence Nightingale, who is widely seen as the founding figure of modern nursing. This year had already seen an extra focus on Nightingale, as it marks the 200th anniversary of her birth.

The hospital is expected to be open in a matter of days, initially with a capacity of 500 beds. That will later increase to a total of 4,000. The operation to transform the (usually rather dreary) conference centre is being undertaken with the help of military planners.

It's needed as lots of London hospitals are nearing capacity due to the pandemic, while the number of coronavirus patients who need to be hospitalised continues to grow.

Keep up to date on all the latest London coronavirus news here.

Last Updated 24 March 2020