A Weymouth hotel is set to become a discharge hospital to help the NHS cope with the coronavirus crisis.

The Hotel Rembrandt will take patients and care staff in a move owners Best Western says is a first in the UK.

It will offer 31 beds from Monday and will be staffed by Abi Live-In Care, Dorset Council says.

Another Dorset hotel owned by Best Western, The Grange at Oborne, near Sherborne, is also being lined up as a discharge hospital.

Together they will take 43 patients and 20 care staff, Best Western, which three weeks ago offered the use of 16,000 rooms to help the NHS, said the two hotels will take patients as early as Monday.

The firm's Great Britain chief executive Rob Paterson said: "These are unprecedented times and so as a hotel group we are taking unprecedented steps to support the NHS.

"We want to help free up urgent bed space in the NHS by taking low risk patients and carers and being part of the solution.

"These two hotels are proof we can do it.

"We have 230 other hotels prepared to reopen their doors and help the nation fight this terrible disease."

The Grange will initially accommodate 12 patients and six carers with the Rembrandt taking 31 patients and 13 care staff.

General manager of the Rembrandt, Massimo Menin, said: "We are working around the clock to get ready for the arrival of patients and staff on Monday.

"It's been a real boost to the hotel and staff I had to furlough to be able to come back and help out at this time.

"Dorset Council have been a great support and we are just proud to be able to help our local NHS hospitals through the crisis by easing the bed burden on them so they can save more lives."

Dorset Council says using a model that has been proven in other areas, this new base aims to assist people to recover and regain their independence outside of hospital, offers more capacity to the health and care system across the area and adds to the ability to respond to the current situation. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is fully in support of this and is helping to get it set up as quickly as possible.

Cllr Laura Miller, Portfolio Holder for adult social care and health at Dorset Council said: “It’s a great success, showing the dedication of partners across the system to get this set up in just a few days. We’re hearing nationally about the shortage of hospital beds, and so we want to be ahead of the curve by providing alternative solutions. We can then make sure that the most critically ill people can get the right help and support at the right time”.