Sunderland facility chosen for new NHS Nightingale hospital

A facility in the North East has been named as the location for the newest emergency hospital designed specifically to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Innovation Centre in Sunderland has been chosen as the site for a new NHS Nightingale Hospital, which will accommodate those needing medical care as a result of contracting coronavirus.

Situated at the heart of the city’s International Advanced Manufacturing Park (IAMP), the newly-completed centre was originally built to support the development of the region’s advanced manufacturing sector.

Operated by Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the hospital will treat COVID-19 patients from across the North East.

Cllr Graeme Miller, leader of Sunderland City Council, commented: “Sunderland is proud to have been able to support our friends and colleagues in the NHS to ensure that the North East’s needs are met, as the nation steps up its efforts to tackle COVID-19.

“Building NHS capacity quickly is absolutely paramount in the battle against Coronavirus, and we are glad to have been able to lend our support in preparing our Innovation Centre to enable this world-class facility to be created.

“This building will be central to the region’s economic revival when we emerge from this crisis, so it is fitting that we open it to support the national effort and provide valuable additional capacity to the NHS, to allow them to care for more people as pressures on our health and social care system continue to increase.”