MANCHESTER’S NHS Nightingale Hospital North West officially opened yesterday to provide care for hundreds of patients with coronavirus from across the region.

The new hospital at the city’s Central Convention Centre was built in just two weeks.

More than 30 patients have already been admitted as it opens on a gradual basis.

The new hospital provides additional capacity for lower-level care reducing pressure on its existing acute counterparts such as the Royal Blackburn caring for seriously ill patients.

The Nightingale Hospital North West will provide both oxygen therapy and general medical care for Covid-19 patients who do not need critical care, for up to 750 patients.

Patients will be transferred from other North West hospitals which currently have enough intensive care beds.

Workforce recruitment began at the end of March, and many staff have already been trained and started work.

Michael McCourt, the new case centre’s chief executive, said: “Building this hospital in just a couple of weeks has taken the determination and boundless energy of people from many organisations who have come together to ensure our NHS has the necessary capacity during the pandemic.”

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said: “The opening of the Nightingale North West in the heart of Manchester is an amazing achievement.”