Nightingale Hospitals to treat Covid patients - as new tiers announced
The Nightingale Hospital in Exeter will receive coronavirus patients for the first time later - with the Bristol site opening 'soon'
People will be transferred from the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, which health officials say is "very busy".
The emergency site, which has 116 beds, opened in July to take pressure off the NHS.
A fall in numbers of cases meant the Nightingale hospital has been used for 'diagnostic testing for a range of conditions' until now.
A Nightingale Hospital Exeter spokeswoman said: "The Nightingale Exeter will accept patients tomorrow who will be transferred from the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust (RD&E), which is very busy.
"We would ask that the public continue to observe the Government's advice on observing the lockdown and social distancing so that we can keep patients safe.''
Bristol's Nightingale Hospital has also revealed it will start hosting outpatient services covering the whole South West soon.
In a series of Tweets bosses say they will use the temporary hospital's clinic space to treat patients from the Bristol Eye Hospital and Bristol children's hospital.
They say they remain on standby to treat Covid patients too if need be.