London Nightingale field hospital ‘dismantled’ as Covid-19 crisis deepens
- Reports suggest massive field hospital at London convention centre quietly dismantled
- UK government says emergency medical facilities are available and remain on standby
As Britain’s hospitals reel from an alarming surge in Covid-19 cases, mystery surrounds a massive field hospital in east London named after the famous nurse Florence Nightingale.
The government insists the emergency makeshift hospital at the city’s ExCeL exhibition centre is on standby, ready to be used, even as photos appear to show a facility stripped of equipment.
ExCeL London was the first and largest of seven “Nightingale hospitals” opened across the country. It was equipped in 10 days with the help of the military and opened on April 3 by Prince William amid patriotic fanfare.
The speed at which it was fitted with medical gear mirrored the quick construction of China’s field hospitals in Wuhan.
But a month later staff were redeployed and Nightingale Hospital London was placed on standby after having admitted fewer than 20 patients. The owner of the facility, UAE-based Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company, soon indicated it was ready for trade fairs and conferences.
But now the country is seeing a wave of new infections, particularly in London, driven by a fast-spreading new variant of the virus.
Nearly three-quarters of the population of England has been placed under the top tier of lockdown measures, severely curtailing New Year’s Eve celebrations.