This is why Armed Forces have been drafted into Bristol during lockdown | Bristol Live

Military staff have been called upon to help with the coronavirus effort

Personnel from the British Army have been "heavily involved" in the construction and organisation of Bristol's pop-up coronavirus hospital, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.

A highly specialised arm of the MoD, called Defence Equipment and Support, has also been assisting the NHS with its Nightingale Hospital at the University of the West of England.

The 300-bed hospital opened in an official ceremony on Monday, attended via video link by Prince Edward, at UWE's Frenchay Campus.

A statement released by Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) yesterday (Wednesday, April 30) said: "The Army has been heavily involved in the project logistics.

"17 men and women from DE&S have been seconded to roles including project management, human resources, equipment procurement, clinical management support and administration."

DE&S equips and supports the UK's armed forces, and has its headquarters at Abbey Wood in Bristol - less than a mile away from the Nightingale.

Its statement revealed that 2,000 volunteers and 100 companies helped to build and set up the hospital, which is housed inside the Bristol Exhibition and Conference Centre.

The rapid build took less than four weeks and saw construction teams lay 10,400m2 of flooring, seven miles of copper pipework, install 25 miles of data cables, and fit 5,656 double plug sockets.

Ieuan Davies, who usually operates simulated Army training systems, is among those whose expertise has been diverted.

He said: "So far, I’ve been buying syringe drivers and volumetric pumps to create ICU beds in the new Nightingale hospitals.

“It’s been an honour to be asked to use the skills developed in DE&S to be a part of the national effort.”

Kim Surry, who is normally a business manager at DE&S and has worked at the MoD for 11 years, is now working as a personal assistant to the Nightingale’s chief medical officer and chief nurse.

Taking the position as HR project manager at the Nightingale is Charlotte Nodwell, who is casework transformation lead at DE&S and helped to ensure the hospital was sufficiently staffed.

She said: “I was keen to be part of anything that was helping with this national issue. Everyone is coming together with completely different skill sets to get a hospital up and running within a really short amount of time.

“It’s nothing I’ve ever done before, so from a personal point of view it’s a challenge. It’s also a really unique experience and a great opportunity to be part of something that’s really important.”

She said she reached out to companies that had furloughed staff to see if they could help with resources, including EasyJet and Bristol Airport.

The Armed Forces are also providing support staff and have deployed combat medical technicians to the Nightingale in Bristol, where they will help NHS staff with basic care and monitoring.

The MoD said they will be supported by a "significant deployment of general duties personnel" and specialist military medical control teams.

Bristol is home to one of seven Nightingale hospitals to be set up around the country, and it is being managed by North Bristol NHS Trust.

The NHS has not yet confirmed if any patients have been treated at the facility yet, but senior staff there have spoken of their hopes that it will never need to be used.