Funding confirmed for 'ambitious' Women and Children's Hospital in Truro
It's part of the Government's commitment to deliver 40 new hospitals by 2030
The Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust have welcomed the Government's continued commitment to the New Hospital Programme as funding has been confirmed for a Women and Children's Hospital in Truro.
Outline permission is now in place, with bosses at RCHT waiting for final approval before work can go ahead.
It follows a campaign championed by Truro and Falmouth MP, Cherilyn Mackrory, who has been calling for a Women and Children's Hospital in Cornwall since she was elected back in 2019.
It's part of the Government's commitment to deliver 40 new hospitals by 2030 which has been confirmed will now be backed by more than £20 billion worth of investment.
As the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Baby Loss, and the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Women’s Health, Cherilyn has been particularly proud that this new facility will bring all women and children’s services into one building.
Cherilyn Mackrory MP said: “This is a welcome update from the Government and I am glad to see we are making good progress towards having this new hospital open by 2028.”
“Part of what levelling-up means for me is making sure that women and children in our community can access the best quality care for their babies and families right here in Truro. I will continue working with my other MP colleagues to push the Government into delivering this project as quickly as possible!”
The project will deliver improvements to patient care and will be built at the heart of the Royal Cornwall Hospital site in Truro.
Key features of the new building will include:
- A consultant-led birthing suite
- A midwife-led birthing suite
- A neonatal intensive care unit with transitional care facilities
- Dedicated operating theatres
- A paediatric assessment unit
- Cardiology, pharmacy and pathology relocation
Work has already started on the site, with the project already seeing a gravel pit car park, demolition works on the site on Penventinnie Lane, a pathology full blood count development, cardiology design development and options for critical electrical infrastructure.
Steve Double MP (Member of Parliament for St Austell & Newquay), said: “I welcome the really positive news from the Secretary of State today that the new Women and Children's Hospital at the Treliske site will now proceed and be fully funded.
"This is the result of several years of hard work of the Cornish MPs, along with the Department for Health and Social Care and the Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust.
"I look forward to seeing these ambitious plans realised and the new hospital delivered for all of Cornwall as soon as possible.”
Steve Williamson, Chief Executive Officer, Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust said: “We welcome today’s announcement by the Secretary of State, the Right Hon Steve Barclay and the Government’s continued commitment to the New Hospital Programme. We are looking forward to starting the next phase of our enabling works schemes which continues from July this year.
“Outline planning permission is in place for the Women and Children’s Hospital and we are now waiting for final approval from HM Treasury to proceed to Full Business Case stage. We will be launching our planned public engagement for the Women and Children’s Hospital in early June, including a first opportunity for our communities see what the new building will look like.
“Our construction partner has been announced previously as BAM Construction Ltd, and we look forward to working with BAM and other strategic partners in Cornwall and beyond, as we prepare to develop our Full Business Case.”
The Government will provide further updates as the project progresses.
You can find out more about the NHS' Building Programme in Cornwall here.