Coronavirus: Florence Nightingale Museum to close

Florence Nightingale's iconic lamp featured in the museum's bicentenary exhibition

London's Florence Nightingale Museum is to close for the foreseeable future due to the impact of the pandemic, it has been announced.

The institution, based at St Thomas' Hospital near Waterloo, has been shut since the second lockdown in November, having been hit by a lack of income.

The charity faces a "major restructuring" with staff redundancies "likely", the museum said.

Chief executive David Green said the move was "vital" to protect its future.

The museum celebrates the history of nursing and tells the story of the famous "Lady with the Lamp".

An exhibition that celebrated her bicentenary opened in March, but shut 10 days later at the start of the first lockdown.

The museum reopened for a few months from August, however its dependency on tourists, particularly from abroad, meant too few visitors returned.

The museum tells the story of the Lady with the Lamp

Tier-four rules in London mean the museum is not currently able to open but when regulations are relaxed, it will only open for special one-off events "for the foreseeable future", organisers said.

The museum will be closed from 28 February.

As well as remaining shut, the institution will also be restructured in order "to protect the collection".

"If changes are not made now, the museum will become financially insolvent before markets recover and visitors return in significant numbers," the museum said.

Mr Green said the museum had "explored every avenue and resource available to us".

A consultation about the plans has begun with museum staff.