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Covid: Harrogate Nightingale Hospital to close

NHS England/Simon Dewhurst The exterior of the Nightingale Hospital in HarrogateNHS England/Simon Dewhurst
The Nightingale hospital in Harrogate will revert to its original use as a convention centre

Yorkshire's 500-bed Nightingale Hospital is to close without treating a single Covid-19 patient.

The emergency unit was set up at Harrogate's Convention Centre and opened by Captain Sir Tom Moore in April.

It was one of seven built in England in 2020 to try and prevent hospitals becoming overwhelmed during the pandemic.

The NHS said it would offer testing while it was being wound back.

In a statement, the NHS thanked its staff and partners "who worked so hard to set the Nightingales up so swiftly".

"Since the very early days of the pandemic the Nightingale hospitals have been on hand as the ultimate insurance policy in case existing hospital capacity was overwhelmed," the statement said.

"But, as we have learned more about coronavirus, and how to successfully treat Covid, existing hospitals have adapted to significantly surge critical care capacity."

PA Media/Danny Lawson Captain Tom Moore and his daughter Hannah Ingram-MoorePA Media/Danny Lawson
Captain Sir Tom Moore opened the hospital in April 2020

The centre is owned by Harrogate Borough Council which has not received any rent from the NHS.

Last year, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said the council faced a £9m deficit as a result of the pandemic, most of which was lost income from the convention centre.

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