// Tesco to open pop-up store at NHS Nightingale in Birmingham’s NEC
// It is due to complete construction by the end of this week
// Other sites that could soon have Tesco pop-ups include the NHS Nightingales in London, Manchester & Harrogate
Tesco has revealed plans to open pop-up convenience stores at NHS Nightingale sites nationwide to provide frontline health care workers easy access to essential items and food.
The Big 4 grocer has selected the NEC in Birmingham as its first dedicated NHS Nightingale Hospital pop-up store, with construction already commenced and due for completion by the end of this week.
Discussions are in place to open other pop-up sites at the Nightingale hospitals in Manchester, Harrogate and London’s ExCel centre.
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The news comes shortly after Tesco joined an alliance of businesses via SalutetheNHS.org to serve one million meals to NHS staff on the frontline against coronavirus.
“As part of our continued commitment to support and thank those in the NHS for all they are doing, we began work on Sunday on our first dedicated NHS Nightingale Hospital pop-up store, at the NEC in Birmingham,” Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis said.
“Following an idea from Public Health England, we will be providing NHS staff with on-site 24-hour access to the food and household products they need.
“We’re in late stage discussions with other Nightingale sites and hope that this is the first of several pop-up Tesco stores to help NHS staff access the essentials they need, as quickly and conveniently as possible.”
Tesco also recently launched a £30 million coronavirus community support package for the next three months.
Of the support package, £15 million worth of food donations would be made to FareShare and the Trussell Trust, and £2 million to the British Red Cross.
Meanwhile, the grocery giant has started to ease rationing limits as stock levels and demand continue to return to more normal levels.
Restrictions of three items per customer remains for toilet rolls, personal cleaning products, packets and tins of food, eggs and home baking products.
Tesco also increased its online delivery capacity by a fifth over the last fortnight, adding 145,000 home delivery slots, and contacted 75,000 vulnerable customers to make home delivery slots available to them.
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