A new NHS Nightingale Hospital is set to open in the North West.

Manchester has been chosen as the location for the new hospital, which will provide up to 500 beds, possibly more, for those affected by the coronavirus.

There will also be a new hospital opening in Birmingham in a move to help provide care to thousands more patients suffering from the virus.

NHS chief executive Sir Simon Stevens made the announcement on Friday when he also revealed that the NHS has freed up 33,000 beds across existing NHS hospitals for coronavirus patients - the equivalent of 50 new hospitals.

The new NHS Nightingale will be based at the Manchester Central Complex and will provide up to 500 beds but could expand further to 1,000 beds for coronavirus patients across the North West of England.

Mr Stevens, said: “It will take a monumental effort from everyone across the country to beat this epidemic, but the NHS is mobilising like never before to deliver care in new ways, to thousands more people – starting with the opening of the first NHS Nightingale in London later next week.

“These are extraordinary steps the NHS is taking, and clinicians, managers and military planners are working day and night to create, equip and staff these hospitals from scratch and prepare for the surge that is likely to be coming.

“While we continue to pull out all the stops, we do need the public to play their part.

"Every single person in this country can make a difference by following the medical advice to the letter – stay at home, wash your hands, which will help stop the virus letting rip and will therefore save lives.”

The new hospitals, which are part of a huge NHS mobilisation plan to deal with the growing number of coronavirus patients, will draw from predominantly NHS doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals from across the country.

A number of military medics will be on hand to care for patients too.

More than 18,000 doctors, nurses and other former NHS staff have already volunteered to return to fight the virus.

The opportunity to rejoin the NHS continues to be open to all former NHS staff from the last three years – even if they haven’t been contacted by their medical regulator.

All former staff that join the ‘NHS army’ are given a full induction and online training to help them to hit the ground running.

The renewed call comes after the NHS extended its 'Your NHS needs you' call to the general public, with already more than 725,000 people volunteering to help deliver medicines from pharmacies, drive patients to appointments, bringing patients home from hospital and making regular phone calls to check on people isolating at home.