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Work to get the first 500 beds ready took just 10 days

Each bed will have its own computer terminal to manage a patient's care more effectively

NHS England chief executive Sir Simon Stevens meets nurses who will work at the site

The site being cleaned ahead of opening

Each bed area occupies an approximate space of 14m2

A central boulevard divides the north and south wings of the complex which occupy around 44,000m2 each

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The team behind the NHS Nightingale hospital in east London is set to get the remaining beds planned for the temporary complex ready in record time.

The work to finish the emergency hospital at the ExCel Centre, normally used for trade fairs and exhibitions, is expected to take just several weeks 鈥� rather than the years a complex with space for 4,000 beds would normally take.

It was opened remotely by Prince Charles on Friday with the first 500 beds now available to take in patients, who are expected to begin arriving shortly.

It is the first and largest in a series of emergency hospitals being rolled out by the NHS to deal with the covid-19 pandemic across the country and includes sites at Birmingham, Manchester, Harrogate and Glasgow which will total more than 4,500 extra beds.

The first stage of work at the ExCel has been completed in just 10 days and at peak the site had 500 workers on it with some parts of the job, such as installing miles of electrical cabling and critical medical equipment, carried out at night.

Mace was brought in two weeks ago by the hospital鈥檚 operator, Barts NHS Trust, the east London trust which runs five hospitals including Barts and the Royal Free, and programme manager KPMG to provide programme and project management services.

Led by Frank Randles, who heads up Mace鈥檚 sports and events business, the team expects to be able to deliver 500 intensive care unit beds in a similar time to the first batch.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a bit of a moving feast over how many beds there will be, it will depend on how much is required,鈥� Randles said. On Friday, the NHS said hospitals in London, which is at the centre of the crisis in the UK, were coping with demand so far.

Randles said Mace has around 30 staff working on the project with the chief executive of the firm鈥檚 consulting arm, Jason Millett, also visiting the site every 48 hours.

Millett added: 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a great example of what the whole industry can do when we鈥檙e asked to step up.鈥�

Other members of the construction team include principal contractor, London healthcare specialist CFES, and architect BDP.

Randles added: 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a huge logistics operation to stock up a hospital in terms of bed and equipment. People call it a field hospital but it鈥檚 much closer to the standards required by a normal hospital.鈥�

Every bed will have its own computer station so doctors can better manage a patient鈥檚 care while it is expected at least 12,000 people will be working at the site in addition to patients.

FM work, such as portering and catering services, is being carried out by Mitie and ISS.

Other requirements have included building a pharmacy as well as clinical waste and welfare facilities.

The nearby University of East London is making up to 500 rooms normally used by students available for doctors, medics and other hospital staff working on the site.

Around 300 workers are expected to be required to complete the remaining beds and Randles admitted some had expressed concerns about the threat of catching coronavirus, with worries growing once the first patients, all of whom are expected to be seriously ill with the disease, are admitted.

鈥淲e had a town hall meeting in a very large area about it all to give the guys some reassurance,鈥� Randles added.

Measures being taken include a clinical wall between the hospital site and the construction site while a series of 15m wide 鈥榖uffer zones鈥� have also been added 鈥� described by Millett as a no-man鈥檚 land between the two parts of the site.

He added: 鈥淲e wanted to ease that anxiety with what is effectively an extra safety zone. There鈥檚 no reason why anyone from the construction side will go into the hospital side. We鈥檝e done an awful lot of work around wellbeing and messaging.鈥�

The site has received wide praise for the speed of the build and the collaboration between the NHS, Ministry of Defence and the ExCel.

Randles, who has been working 14-hour days at the job, added: 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a complicated few weeks but there鈥檚 been a really positive spirit. Everyone has laboured for the same thing. Everybody has collaborated really well. People鈥檚 attitude has been all about getting the beds ready so people鈥檚 lives can be saved. If we could bottle the spirit in which this has been delivered, the industry would be in a better place.鈥�