North West Nightingale Hospital opens for non-covid patients
The Nightingale Hospital for the North West will begin accepting patients again from later on Wednesday, according to the NHS.
The facility, set up at the Manchester Central conference centre, will reopen as figures show the number of coronavirus patients being treated in the North West is approaching the level it was at the peak of the first wave.
A spokeswoman for the NHS in the North West said the temporary hospital would care for patients who do not have coronavirus.
She said: "The NHS Nightingale Hospital North West will accept patients from today to provide care for those who do not have Covid-19, but do need further support before they are able to go home, such as therapy and social care assessments."
The facility was first opened in April and was able to care for 750 patients from across the North West at full capacity.
Earlier this month, Nightingale hospitals in Manchester, Sunderland and Harrogate were asked to "mobilise" and prepare for patients as areas in the north of England saw infection rates rise.
Figures show, as of October 26, North West hospitals had 2,407 patients with coronavirus.
The number is the highest since April 23 and not far below the figure of 2,890 from the peak of the first wave on April 13.
Dr Jane Eddleston, medical director of the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, said: "The Nightingale will not be used as a critical care facility and neither was it in the first phase. It will be used as a facility for patients to have additional rehabilitation."
Read more: