The initial phase of the development will have capacity for 800 patients as of this weekend. The site will eventually accommodate up to another 4,000 patient beds.

Working on behalf of the NHS and the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB), Interserve Construction delivered the first phase of the critical NHS facility in an intense building project with more than 400 employees and contractors working on site 24 hours a day for the past seven days. This was achieved in line with the social distancing guidelines set out by the UK Government.

The new hospital is the second of several under development in the UK, with others under construction in Manchester and Glasgow in light of the developing situation with COVID-19.

Paul Gandy, managing director at Interserve Construction, said: “The NHS Nightingale Birmingham has been built at a remarkable pace and with huge discipline. Our 400 employees and contractors have worked over 40,000 hours since Saturday to build this hospital, employing great logistics and project management skills. The NHS Nightingale Birmingham shows what can be achieved when people come together across the construction sector to protect the NHS and save lives.

“As the principal contractor working with UHB, our key supply chain partners and the NEC, our people have been working on site 24 hours a day to create this lifesaving medical facility.”

Dr David Rosser, chief executive at UHB, added: “The extraordinary effort in creating the Nightingale Hospital Birmingham is a total team effort. Without this collective purpose we would not have been able to make the staggering preparations to deliver this facility.”