Covid Scotland: NHS Louisa Jordan emergency hospital in SEC closes for good

An emergency hospital created to take pressure off the NHS during the Covid-19 pandemic will be decommissioned after not seeing any patients with the virus.

The main concourse area in the NHS Louisa Jordan hospital, Glasgow.

NHS Louisa Jordan was established inside the Scottish Events Campus (SEC) in Glasgow last year as cases reached record levels during the first wave of the virus.

But the emergency hospital was not stood down until earlier this year, instead being used as the venue for 32,000 medical appointments, training 6,900 members of staff and more than 500 blood donations.

Staff at the facility also provided 370,000 vaccines to the people of Glasgow.

The venue will now be used as one of the main sites of the Cop26 climate conference later this year.

Jill Young, the chief executive of the Louisa Jordan, said: “With the closure of both the hospital and vaccination centre, NHS Louisa Jordan leaves an incredible and lasting legacy for the people of Scotland.

“So far a total of £4 million worth of equipment has been redistributed across other NHS Boards and healthcare teaching colleges.

“From our experience, we have also developed a fully comprehensive delivery and operational manual to ensure that our health service can quickly and efficiently respond should there ever be a future need for an emergency hospital.

“We cannot express big enough thank you to everyone involved in the lifespan of NHS Louisa Jordan.

“Through set up, providing outpatients, diagnostic imaging services and vaccinations – they have made a real and positive difference to the lives of so many people from across the country in what has been an anxious, challenging time for all.”

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