The NHS Louisa Jordan is to stay open despite the closure of all but two Nightingale hospitals in England.

It was announced on Monday that Nightingale hospitals in England, set up to cope with a spike in Covid-19 cases are to close from April, apart from sites in London and Sunderland staying open for vaccinations.

However, the Scottish Government has confirmed that NHS Louisa Jordan will continue in its "crucial" role supporting Scotland's health boards.

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Meanwhile, NHS England said existing hospitals have been able to increase their beds so successfully that the Nightingales are no longer needed.

A network of hospitals was set up last spring amid fears that the health service may end up overwhelmed, as had happened in some other countries.

The Nightingale hospitals in England were largely not needed and some were stepped down to rehabilitation centres.

NHS Louisa Jordan was not needed to treat coronavirus patients, but did serve as a vaccination centre - as the site where more than 60,000 jags were administered.

Otherwise the hospital has been used to supplement NHS outpatient services which had paused during the early stages of the pandemic, treating 23,790 outpatients.

The hospital was named after Glasgow born First World War nurse Sister Louisa Jordan who died on active service in Serbia in 1915 as part of the Scottish Women’s Hospitals for Foreign Services.

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An NHS England spokeswoman said: “Since the very early days of the pandemic the Nightingale hospitals have been on hand as the ultimate insurance policy in case existing hospital capacity was overwhelmed but, as we have learned more about coronavirus, and how to successfully treat Covid, existing hospitals have adapted to significantly surge critical care capacity, and even in the winter wave – which saw more than 100,000 patients with the virus admitted in a single month – there were beds available across the country.

“Thank you to the many NHS staff and partners who worked so hard to set the Nightingales up so swiftly and of course the public who followed the guidance on controlling the spread of the virus and helped to prevent hospitals being overwhelmed.”

She said vaccination services will continue at London and Sunderland to support the NHS vaccination programme.

In a video posted on Twitter, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the closure of the Nightingale hospitals is an “important moment in our national recovery”.

He said the hospitals are a “monument to this country’s ability to get things done fast when it really matters” and played a “critical role” in the UK’s response to coronavirus.

A Scottish government spokesperson said: “NHS Louisa Jordan has been a crucial facility, supporting the NHS through this pandemic with the provision of a non-COVID pathway for urgent outpatient and diagnostic appointments.

“It is currently still being used as an important site and any future plans will be shared at the appropriate time.”