Fundraising hero Captain Tom Moore praised the NHS for doing a "magnificent job" as he opened Yorkshire's new Nightingale hospital via video link today.
The 99-year-old veteran was guest of honour at the new facility in Harrogate, one of a number of centres set up to increase capacity for treating coronavirus patients.
He appeared on screen by video link in front of a crowd of around 100 people at the Harrogate Convention Centre to open the NHS Nightingale Yorkshire and the Humber site.
“I’m absolutely in awe of what has happened," he said while sitting with his daughter, Hannah Ingram-Moore, at his home in Bedfordshire.
“If you think all the kindness of the people in this country and throughout the world, who have given so much money to the fund to help our National Health Service, which you have got to agree is one of the best services that there is in the world.”
“All the doctors and nurses in the NHS, they do a brilliant job in very difficult conditions and every day they’re putting themselves in harm’s way night and morning.
“They’re doing it with a determination that only we can do and they are continuing to do that and I think we must all say thank you very much to the National Health Service, all of you, not just the doctors and nurses, but everyone throughout the whole system who are doing such a magnificent job.”
Captain Tom, who has raised more than £27 million for NHS charities, declared the hospital, which will provide 500 extra beds for Covid-19 patients, open as Paula Lorimer, director of the Harrogate Convention Centre, unveiled a plaque.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock also delivered a recorded message in which he offered his “heartfelt thanks”.
He said: “This is a hospital that nobody would have ever wanted and it is a hospital we hope never to see full.
“But the fact you have been able to make this happen in such a short period of time is a testament to your capabilities, determination and your teamwork.
The extra capacity at the Harrogate hospital adds to other Nightingale hospitals being opened in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Cardiff and Glasgow.
