New Royal Liverpool Reaches Highest Point
Radio City News has been given access to the new Royal Liverpool Hospital as they complete work on the building's highest point.
Radio City News has been given access to the new Royal Liverpool Hospital as they complete work on the building's highest point.
The Topping Out ceremony was performed by the Deputy Lord Mayor Cllr Roz Gladden on the roof of the £335m new Royal. It was followed by a festive reception in what will be the new hospital’s atrium which was lined with Christmas trees and fairy lights, and decked out like a Santa’s Grotto.
Topping Out ceremonies are traditionally used to celebrate the final steel beam - or equivalent – being placed on the tallest point of a new structure. The Deputy Lord Mayor performed the Topping Out by planting a yew tree into a concrete plinth.
Entertainment was provided by Alsop High School Choir, Merseywave Music Community Choir and Shine Gospel Choir. The event was hosted and funded by Carillion and their contractors and all construction was halted for the duration of the event.
When it opens in 2017, the new Royal will be the largest hospital in England to have all ensuite single bedrooms for inpatients; enhancing privacy and dignity for its patients and reducing infection risks. It will also have one of the biggest emergency departments in the North West.
Since work began in February 2014, 1666 local workers have been employed on site, with 357 of those workers coming from areas with high unemployment rates. 90 apprenticeships and 99 work experience placements have also been provided on site.
Together with Carillion, the new Royal development has introduced a Community Fund providing £100,000 over three years for local groups.
Aidan Kehoe, chief executive of the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust, said:
"This monumental event, which has been hosted and supported by Carillion and their contractors, is an opportunity to look back and celebrate the amazing achievements in the development of the new Royal, by the construction workers on site and our own dedicated project team and clinical advisors, who started planning the new hospital nearly ten years ago.
"This is the biggest construction project that Liverpool has seen for years and is the start of a massive transformation for the city. The new Royal and the creation of the Liverpool Health Campus will put Liverpool on the world map for life sciences and give the people of Merseyside a hospital to be extremely proud of."
Watch our video report from the top of the new Royal Hospital below.