Scottish rugby bosses have made BT Murrayfield available to health officials should extra bed capacity be needed to deal with the Coronavirus pandemic.
A tweet posted to the Scottish Rugby Union’s account on Monday claimed the national stadium was in a “state of readiness” to be transformed into an emergency medical facility if the COVID-19 outbreak worsens.
It came as the NHS Louisa Jordan field hospital opened its doors at the Scottish Events Campus (SEC) in Glasgow on Monday.
The facility is set up to accommodate 300 patients if required, although capacity can be expanded 1,036 if required.
The SRU offered the use of Murrayfield to the Scottish Government before the Coronavirus lockdown, but it was decided the Glasgow space was better suited to the demands of an emergency hospital.
The tweet, featuring an image of a gleaming Murrayfield, read: “The sun is beating down on BT Murrayfield this morning.
“The stadium is in a state of readiness for the Scottish Government, if extra hospital capacity should be needed to treat those affected by coronavirus.”
Health secretary Jeane Freeman said she was “confident” the Glasgow facility would not be needed but conceded the decision to admit patients to the hospital would be reviewed regularly.
She added: “I hope this facility will not be needed as, alongside the public’s continued efforts to stay at home, NHS Scotland has already taken steps to increase the number of NHS beds.
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“The exceptional efforts of everyone involved in creating NHS Louisa Jordan during this unprecedented public health emergency will ensure this national facility will be able to treat patients from across Scotland, helping to save lives and protect our NHS.”
