A SOUTH West regional hospital that could care for coronavirus patients from Somerset is to be set up.

The temporary Nightingale hospital will be opened at the University of the West of England (UWE) in Bristol.

It will be fitted out with 1,000 beds to deal with the rising number of COVID-19 cases, the NHS has said.

Another Nightingale facility has also been earmarked for Harrogate, in Yorkshire.

Already planned are similar facilities in London's ExCel centre, which could take up to 4,000 patients, Birmingham's NEC and Manchester's Central Complex.

The Bristol pop-up hospital would be used to treat patients from across the South West.

Referring to the Bristol and Harrogate announcement, NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens said they would add to "surge capacity".

He added: "We're giving the go-ahead to these additional sites, hoping they may not be needed but preparing in case they are.

"But that will partly depend on continuing public support for measures to reduce growth in the infection rate by staying at home to save lives."