Duke of Cambridge opens NHS Nightingale Hospital via video call

The Duke of Cambridge remotely opened a new NHS Nightingale Hospital on Thursday morning, praising both the “selfless commitment” and “herculean effort” of NHS workers while doing so.

Constructed in only eight days, the NHS Nightingale Birmingham Hospital will help alleviate overcrowded hospitals and allow more patients to be treated as the UK battles the COVID-19 pandemic.

William gave a speech as the hospital was opened, saying: “Let me start by reiterating all that has been said so far and paying tribute to the incredible work that NHS staff across the country have been doing to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. Their selfless commitment has touched the hearts of the entire nation.”

He continued, “The building you are standing in is yet another example of how people across the country have risen to this unprecedented challenge. The Nightingale hospitals will rightly go down as landmarks in the history of the NHS.

“The NHS Nightingale Hospital Birmingham is a wonderful example of Britain pulling together, and having spoken to some of the people who helped build it, hospitals are about the people and not the bricks.

“NHS staff, armed forces, local government, and the private sector have collectively stepped up to turn this Exhibition Centre into a Hospital. You all deserve our huge thanks, and you should all be hugely proud of what you have achieved in such a short space of time.”

Morage Gates, the project director, told the Duke of Cambridge via a video meeting prior to the hospital’s opening: “It was phenomenal teamwork from everybody. It is probably the best example of teamwork I’ve ever seen in my entire 40-year NHS career.”

William praised their efforts, saying: “It is incredible to think how quickly you’ve done it. That is phenomenal speed.”

The new hospital was built in only eight days inside of the NEC Exhibition Centre. Prince Charles opened the first NHS Nightingale Hospital in London on 3 April.

“It is so impressive how you all work together, and how well everyone is pulling together.

“I can’t congratulate and thank all of you enough for all of your hard work in putting this together. It’s a herculean effort and you should be, rightly, very proud of what you’ve achieved. Thank you for everything you’ve done. It really means a lot to everybody.”

Prince William opened the new hospital via video link in front of nearly 50 staff members, military personnel, and construction workers who helped to build the facility.

“We were able to tell [William] about the overwhelming support that we have had, anything from supermarkets to Nestle Easter eggs,” Professor Jamie Coleman of the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, told reporters afterwards.

“He was very interested in family life, and how this was affecting us all. It is very easy for us in a way because we have had a real focus, even if it has been working incredibly long hours.”