15.01.19
Construction to begin on £98m Heatherwood Hospital to replace 100-year-old existing facility
Building work on a new £98m Heatherwood Hospital is to get underway after Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust gave the construction the green light.
The new hospital in Ascot will replace the current ageing Heatherwood Hospital, which councillors gave permission to demolish and relocate to nearby greenbelt land in 2017.
It is due to be completed by 2021, and is estimated that within 10 years the new build will provide care for 168,000 people each year— an increase of 85,000 compared to the old Heatherwood, which has been in operation for just under a century.
Proposals for the hospital were first announced in 2014, but planners had recommended against giving permission for the new building before Frimley Health FT successfully argued that there were “very special circumstances” to develop the land.
Once the new Heatherwood is operational and opens on its woodlands site behind current site, the old hospital will be closed and part of the site will then be redeveloped into housing.
Frimley Health chief executive Neil Dardis said: “We are delighted that we can now deliver our vision for the Heatherwood site.
“The new hospital will ensure we can offer local patients the best care in the best environment and it is a key part of our strategy to remain an innovative and outstanding trust well into the future.”
“We can’t wait to get started.”
The new Heatherwood Hospital will have six operating theatres and 48 inpatient beds, plus 22 day-case cubicles as well as housing the trust’s private patient unit.
It will offer a range of outpatient and diagnostic facilities such as cardiology, radiology, lithotripsy, children’s clinic, physiotherapy, and orthodontics and a primary care hub with GPs, community nurses, and other healthcare specialists.
The medical director of Frimley Foundation Trust, Tim Ho, said he was “delighted” that work can now begin.
He added: “This will be a fantastic hospital fit for the 21st century, offering state-of the-art care for our patients and a first-class working environment for our staff.”
The £98m construction is part of Frimley Health’s £200m capital investment programme which also includes £35m on improvements to buildings across other sites, a new £49m emergency and assessment centre and a £10m upgrade to maternity services at Wexham Park Hospital.