Turning off the lights for the last time at the NHS Louisa Jordan Covid-19 hospital in Glasgow
Final decommissioning of the emergency hospital site today
Last updated 19th Jul 2021
The NHS Louisa Jordan emergency hospital created at the SEC in Glasgow at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic will be fully decommissioned today after not seeing any patients with the virus.
Opened in April last year, the Scottish Government ordered its construction inside the exhibition halls of the Scottish Events Campus as cases began to spiral during the first wave of the virus.
But the emergency hospital was not stood down until earlier this year, instead being used as the venue for 32,000 medical appointments, training 6,900 members of staff and more than 500 blood donations.
Its final iteration, however, would be its most important - as staff at the facility provided 370,000 vaccines to the people of Glasgow.
The Louisa Jordan will now be disassembled as the venue prepares to be one of the main sites of the Cop26 climate conference later this year.
Lasting legacy of NHS Louisa Jordan
Jill Young, the chief executive of the Louisa Jordan, said: "With the closure of both the hospital and vaccination centre, NHS Louisa Jordan leaves an incredible and lasting legacy for the people of Scotland.
"So far a total of £4 million worth of equipment has been redistributed across other NHS Boards and healthcare teaching colleges.
"From our experience, we have also developed a fully comprehensive delivery and operational manual to ensure that our health service can quickly and efficiently respond should there ever be a future need for an emergency hospital.
"We cannot express big enough thank you to everyone involved in the lifespan of NHS Louisa Jordan.
"Through set up, providing outpatients, diagnostic imaging services and vaccinations - they have made a real and positive difference to the lives of so many people from across the country in what has been an anxious, challenging time for all.''