The multi-million pound Nightingale hospitals opened during the first wave of the pandemic have been branded an “expensive Government PR stunt”.
Ministers spent £220 million on seven hospitals that were opened in England over fears the NHS would become overwhelmed.
A 460-bed facility opened in Sunderland that is yet to treat a single patient, while facilities across the country still remain largely unused.
Hospitals across the country are reportedly struggling to cope with increasing demand as the number of patients being treated for coronavirus surpassed the peak of the pandemic.
Mary Foy MP, who represents Durham City, said: “With some hospitals at breaking point, it seems the Nightingales remain unused.
“Pitched as a safety net against Covid-19, instead they are an expensive Government PR stunt without the workers to staff them. Yet more proof that the NHS is nothing without its staff.”
On Monday, NHS England figures revealed there were 20,426 patients being treated for coronavirus compared to 18,974 patients recorded on April 12.
There have also been reports that the London Nightingale has been dismantled - though NHS bosses say it remains on ‘standby’.
Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said the Nightingale hospitals had been opened "at great expense and fanfare".
The Labour MP tweeted: "But the reality is years of Tory failures to invest in training and staffing has left the NHS short of staff needed."
But Chris Hopson of NHS Providers, which represents hospital trusts, said it was still the right decision to build the hospitals earlier this year.
Even without complex equipment, they could still have a role given many Covid-19 patients are now treated on general wards with oxygen therapy, he said.
He said the NHS would use "every ounce" of existing capacity it could muster before the Nightingales were used routinely.
