The NHS Nightingale hospital, located at the ExCeL conference centre in London, is to be opened today, in response to the Covid-19 outbreak.

The hospital will eventually be capable of providing support for up to 4,000 Covid-19 patients, but will initially provide up to 500 beds equipped with ventilators and oxygen.

The hospital will be run by NHS staff and volunteers with 700 military personnel providing logistic assistance.

Prince Charles will officially open the hospital via videolink from his Scottish residence at Birkhall, where he self-isolated for seven days last week after testing positive for Covid-19. He is understood to have made a full recovery.

The NHS is to opening two further NHS Nightingale hospitals in Bristol and Harrogate to provide hundreds of extra beds if local services need them during the peak of the virus.

The NHS is also creating Nightingale hospitals in Manchester and Birmingham. 

The new hospital in Manchester will be located at the city’s Manchester Central complex while the National Exhibition Centre will house the temporary hospital in Birmingham.

Each of these new services will initially have up to 500 beds, potentially offering as many as 3,000 more between them if cases escalate.