Holby City Donates Ventilators to London Hospital

The BBC medical drama donated two fully working ventilators from its set at Elstree to new NHS Nightingale Hospital.

13:49 15 April 2020

The NHS Nightingale Hospital in London is the recipient of two fully working ventilators donated by the BBC drama Holby City. 

 

Simon Harper, the show's executive producer, said that they wanted to help "the courageous and selfless real-life medics". The comment follows a tweet showing a photo of workers unloading the two equipment from a van and a government drive to source thousands more ventilators to help ease the pressure on hospitals caused by the pandemic. 

 

In a statement, the BBC confirmed that the two medical equipment were ordered for the production, which is now put on hold because of the coronavirus crisis. The show had asked their supplier to deliver the ventilators to the NHS once the need for the equipment became clear. A ventilator is used when patients suffering from respiratory problems are unable to breathe on their own. 

 

The NHS Nightingale Hospital, which opened at east London's ExCel centre last Friday, is the first of the government's emergency field hospitals to help fight the pandemic. It is able to hold as many as 4,000 patients and is the first of several facilities planned across the UK. 

 

There are also Nightingale hospitals in Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester and Harrogate, with two more announced on Friday on Exeter and Wearside.