Demolition work is already under way as part of ambitious new plans for a £110 million project to transform Bath’s Royal United Hospital (RUH) over the next five years.
Central to the plans is the Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Trust’s new Estate Strategy, which involves the demolition of old buildings to make way for the construction of a new £23.5 million cancer centre, a pharmacy building and an integrated therapies unit. Demolition has started and it is expected the cancer centre will be completed by 2017.
The trust says these facilities will allow it to deliver a first class diagnostics service and the highest quality patient centred cancer care. Contracts have yet to be awarded but front runner could be Kier Construction which has recently completed a new Pathology Laboratory and Mortuary building on the site.
RUH chief executive James Scott said: "The Trust is on the cusp of one of the most exciting periods of development and improvement in its history.
“Transforming the site means we can transform the services we provide our patients, and our newly-approved Estate Strategy will enable us to do just that – Sweeping away poor quality buildings and providing a hospital estate that we can all be proud of. We are now poised to take the first step in what will be a very exciting journey.” Mr Scott also referred to the large amount of employment opportunities that will be created as a result.
Development of a new records and IT centre has recently been completed. The allocation of additional patient and visitor parking due to the restructuring of the site is also part of the Estate Strategy.
Director of estates and facilities Howard Jones said: “The investment will not only cover the costs of the new Cancer Centre, it will also enable us to make a considerable investment in medical equipment, IT infrastructure and extensive re-development of the whole site.”
Mr Scott said the trust has been able to “think big” in terms of creating state of the art facilities for cancer care as a result of financial contributions made by the public in addition to money set aside by the trust itself.
