Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
National
Rebecca Speare-Cole

Ventilators from set of BBC drama Holby City donated to new NHS Nightingale Hospital in London

The BBC has donated fully working ventilators from the set of Holby City to the new Nightingale Hospital in the fight against coronavirus.

The broadcaster shared the news in a tweet, showing workers loading equipment into a van.

It was not immediately clear how many ventilators had been donated or why working medical equipment was used on set.

Holby City executive producer Simon Harper said: "We are only too happy to help out and do what we can for the courageous and selfless real-life medics."

It comes as the NHS have faced the pandemic with shortages in medical equipment and personal protection equipment.

The new NHS Nightingale hospital was created in just nine days to help cope with the coronavirus pandemic.

It has the potential to offer 4,000 beds at a site in Newham, east London.

The BBC's gesture is the latest in a national outpouring of gratitude to NHS staff risking their lives to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

On Thursday, the nation once again united for a country-wide round of applause for workers on the front line.

It came as the UK recorded its highest daily death toll since the outbreak began.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the daily No 10 news conference that as of Thursday there had been 8,958 hospital deaths from the disease, an increase of 980 on the previous day.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.