Millions funded to build Women and Children's Hospital in Cornwall
The new unit will be built by 2028
Last updated 7th Jun 2023
Plans to construct the new Women and Children’s Hospital will officially take place by 2028 after new funding announced by the Secretary of State for Health.
The new hospital will bring together services in one place, with maternity services, neonatal care, paediatric care, and obstetric and gynaecology services - between and connected to, the existing Tower Block and Trelawny Wing.
Key features of the new environment for care include consultant and midwife-led birthing suites; a more spacious neonatal intensive care unit; transitional care facilities with family rooms; and a dedicated day assessment unit for maternity patients.
Steve Williamson, RCHT Chief Executive Officer said: “Confirmation from the Secretary of State for Health that we can proceed is brilliant news. It is testimony to the hard work, passion and commitment to providing outstanding care on the part of everyone involved in the scheme.
"It is easy to forget this Women and Children’s Hospital Programme was first conceived over five years ago as a direct and limited reprovision of the maternity services housed in the Princess Alexandra Wing.
"Plans were then developed further and expanded to include the co-location of paediatric services, and obstetrics and gynaecology theatres to transform our hospital site and optimise women and children’s services, with funding from the national New Hospital Programme (NHP).
"The current plan for our new Women and Children’s Hospital is ambitious in order to meet our vision of providing outstanding care for the people of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. It is a great stride forward in our journey towards transforming and redeveloping the NHS estate in Cornwall in support of the delivery of optimal clinical services."
The £291million programme of work includes several enabling projects, such as the construction of a new pathology building to the west of the existing Trelawny Wing, an increase in electrical capacity provided via an additional main power supply cable and the re-provision of car parking spaces impacted by the building works.
The enabling works projects will need to be completed before construction commences on the main Women and Children’s Hospital.
By 2028 once construction is complete, the new Women and Children Hospital entrance will also become the new main entrance for the Royal Cornwall Hospital.
Roberta Fuller, Programme Director for the Women and Children’s Hospital at the Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust said: "Our project delivery team here at RCHT comprises the clinical teams within the Women and Children’s Care Group; project managers working within our Strategic Estates function and the ongoing support of the RCHT Trust Board. Together with our external partners at BAM, Stride Treglown and Arcadis, we have successfully developed this programme to Outline Business Case stage and are looking forward to continuing on to the next stage of the programme.
Jon Clarke, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, and Joint Clinical Director of the Women and Children’s Care Group, said: "We are absolutely delighted that the programme of activity to build a new Women and Children’s Hospital has moved forward significantly with the announcement from the Secretary of State for Health.
"Our geographical isolation means that many of those working at the hospital are also parents to children born here, and many of us have relatives who have had children, or mothers, cared for here in Truro. It means so much to our staff, as well as to the whole community, that this new hospital will soon be a reality."
The new main entrance for the Royal Cornwall Hospital will be provided in a light and airy atrium which will include a staffed reception desk; self-service check-in kiosks with digitally- enabled wayfinding; a large retail pharmacy outlet; a new café; wheelchair and buggy storage; patient toilets and family rooms including a “Changing Places Facility”; and quiet rooms for baby change and feeding for new parents.
Some early work has started on the overall programme, with the demolition of six decommissioned houses on Penventinnie Lane to create the construction site compound to support BAM during the main construction phase. Work has also commenced on the re-provision of the car parking spaces in advance of the construction of the pathology building. These will be in place by December 2023. The relocation of the remaining clinical services out of the footprint of the planned new hospital will start by the end of 2023 and complete during 2024.
Roberta added: "As we proceed towards Full Business Case stage and gaining full planning consent, we look forward to launching our public engagement campaign for the Women and Children’s Hospital. Plans will be highlighted this week at the Royal Cornwall Show, providing a first opportunity for our communities to see what the new building could look like, and we will be visiting a number of community events in the coming months across the county, many in partnership with the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board."