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The Earl and Countess of Wessex will be 'opening' Jersey's new field hospital next week.
The ceremony involving the youngest of the Queen's children, Prince Edward, and his wife, Sophie, will take place via video link on 11 May.
The news was announced by the government yesterday, as it confirmed that the main work on the £14.4m temporary Nightingale facility had been completed.
Work at the Millbrook-based site began around one month ago, and was overseen by the Department of Growth, Housing and Environment (GHE) and J3.
Pictured: The site of the new field hospital.
With the key elements now finished, the facility was yesterday handed over to the Health Department.
Ahead of its opening next week, smaller fixtures and fittings still need to be added, while staff will test the facilities and undergo training on the premises.
No patients will be treated there until the Health Minister formally approves it for use.
Welcoming the milestone in the project, which is so far within budget, Infrastructure Minister Deputy Kevin Lewis commented: “Less than four weeks ago my department was tasked with constructing this facility, which required co-ordination of the efforts of hundreds of people from a diverse range of Jersey businesses, as well as the public sector.
"The community spirit has been fabulous, and I want to thank the Island’s construction industry, the Ports of Jersey, and my department colleagues for their determination and commitment.”
Video: What the inside of the facility looks like so far. (Gary Grimshaw)
Speaking about the facility's purpose, Health Minister Deputy Richard Renouf added: “An extension of the Jersey General Hospital, the Nightingale Wing, will provide additional bed capacity as part of our ongoing resilience to support the Island’s needs as we move forward as a community.
"It will form an important part of our heath care response to Covid-19 and gives us greater resilience as we start to move through the phases of Jersey’s safe exit framework.”
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