9 pictures of the new Nightingale Hospital near Sunderland

The new Nightingale Hospital, which is being built inside a warehouse for the automotive industry near Sunderland, is to open by the end of the month.

• Nightingale hospital for North East being built in motor industry unit

Already, workers have been seen working round-the-clock converting Washington’s Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Advanced Manufacturing into 16 hospital wards for the region.

Latest pictures show how the site, located off the A19 and near Nissan Sunderland, is taking shape and soon to be ready to accept COVID-19 patients, if needed.

Last week, confirming the site would be opening as the region's first Nightingale Hospital, Durham North West MP Richard Holden said: "Washington’s Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Advanced Manufacturing, just off the A1 is to become the North East England and Cumbria’s Nightingale Hospital."

“It will be able to care for 460 patients, from across the region, and will have the capacity to support patients who require ventilation, should that be required.

“Work is well underway on equipping the building and it should be able to receive patients within a couple of weeks," he added.

So far across the UK, seven Nightingale Hospitals have either been confirmed or opened by NHS England since the pandemic began.

Harrogate Exhibiton Centre in North Yorkshire is just days from opening as a field hospital for COVID-19 patients.

Sir Simon Stevens, NHS chief executive, said: “These hospitals will provide backup and support for NHS hospitals across the South West and the North East, should it be needed."

He said: "Our local health service staff have rightly recommended we go ahead with these additional facilities.

"But our ambition as a country has to be to continue to stay at home to cut infections and save lives - so that the need to actually use these Nightingale hospitals is as limited as possible."