400 contractors worked over 40,000 hours in seven days to build the first phase of the 4,000-bed NHS Nightingale Hospital Birmingham
Interserve will complete the new Nightingale Hospital Birmingham to treat COVID-19 patients on 10 April.
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 initial 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.
Interserve is supported by 60 Gurkhas, who are providing essential la6bour and distribution delivery, as well as helping to put the beds in place.
The Nightingale Hospital Birmingham is the second of several under development in the UK, with others under construction in Manchester and Glasgow.
Nightingale Hospital Birmingham stats:
- 400 employees and contractors from Interserve
- Over 64 miles of cable laid
- 10 miles of copper piping
- 15,000m2 of plywood
- Vinyl flooring across the equivalent of 11.5 football pitches
- 4,000 patient beds at completion
- The metal used in the bed bays, laid end to end, would stretch over 22 kilometres.
Paul Gandy, managing director of 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 of UHB, commented: “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.”
Saqib Bhatti, constituency member of parliament for the NHS Nightingale Hospital Birmingham, added: “The colossal effort from the NHS, UHB and Interserve is testament to what can be achieved by this country in a time of crisis.
“I am proud to have Nightingale Hospital Birmingham in my constituency, and to have witnessed the NEC’s rapid transformation from a thriving events hub to a lifesaving care facility.”
