Huge coronavirus 'field hospital' WILL be built in Yorkshire, health chiefs confirm

The temporary hospital will be set up at the Harrogate Convention Centre in North Yorkshire and have space for up to 500 beds.

The centre is the latest facility to be announced as a so-called Nightingale hospital, to care for patients with coronavirus.

Nightingale hospitals have already been announced at the NEC in Birmingham, the GMEX centre in Manchester and the ExCeL conference centre in east London.

It is understood the hospital could open as soon as this weekend- however, there has been no official confirmation as to whether that is the case.

Responding to the announcement, Mayor of the Sheffield City Region, Dan Jarvis said: “The need for the new Nightingale Hospital shows the extraordinary challenge we face to overcome the Coronavirus. There are sensible and practical reasons why Harrogate has been selected, due to the speed at which the facility can be built and its location central to the whole of Yorkshire.

“In South Yorkshire, we have made extensive preparations, so people receive the very best possible care.

“I have been assured that all COVID-19 patients who need hospital care in our region will be treated at their local or a neighbouring hospital in South Yorkshire.

“I have been in daily contact with the South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw Integrated Care System (ICS) and the Local Resilience Forum throughout the pandemic.

“They are working tirelessly to support their partners to increase capacity at all our acute care hospitals.

“The expertise at our hospitals, alongside the herculean efforts to prepare for more cases, mean we are in a strong position to rise to the Coronavirus challenge. I have full confidence in all our excellent, hard-working NHS staff, who have stepped up when we needed them most and put their lives in danger to keep us all safe.

“We must also remember we all have a huge role to play in protecting the NHS and we must do our duty. We must continue to look out for each other, follow the official advice by staying at home and meet this challenge with determination and resilience.”