Temporary NHS Community Hospital in Surrey

A new community hospital, named in honour of the pioneering nurse Mary Seacole, is opening in Surrey as part of the NHS response to the coronavirus pandemic.

NHS England says that the NHS Seacole Centre, the first of its kind in England, will be used as a temporary service for patients who are recovering from coronavirus. The site, which will have up to 300 inpatient beds if they are needed, will also provide rehabilitation to those who have been in hospital for routine treatment.

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock and Chief Nursing Officer for England, Ruth May virtually opened the hospital, praising the NHS staff who set up this service, as part of the next phase of the response to the virus.

Sir Simon Stevens, NHS England chief executive, said: “As well as providing important care in its own right, this new service – by recalling the pioneering work of Mary Seacole – rightly pays tribute to our BAME nurses and other staff at the forefront of the extraordinary NHS response to this terrible covid19 pandemic.

“It also serves as a timely reminder that it is their contribution over the past seven decades that has been a foundation for the very success and continuation of the NHS itself. I fully expect that this will be just the first of a number of Seacole services that will now begin to be established across the country as the NHS moves through the peak of inpatient coronavirus care and the need for community health and rehabilitative services grows.”

Matt Hancock added: “There can be no more fitting tribute to the extraordinary work of Mary Seacole than the compassion and dedication of our health and social care staff working on the frontline of this pandemic today.

“NHS Seacole will not only offer a vital space for recovery and rehabilitation, but will also free up crucial extra capacity so everybody who needs care can receive it over the coming months. Our NHS remains there for those who need it and we all have a role to play in fighting this virus, by staying home to support our NHS and save lives.”

Mary Seacole was a Jamaican born pioneering nurse who helped soldiers to recover from the Crimean War.