Building starts on new outpatient unit at West Cornwall Hospital
Patients could be treated in the new site in Penzance from April 2025
Building work has begun on a new outpatient unit at West Cornwall Hospital.
The £9m project will see modern and technically-advanced facilities added to the site in Penzance.
It's hoped this will allow a wider range of virtual and face-to-face care to take place.
Solar panels will also be incorporated into the new unit's design, the first project at a hospital managed by the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust (RCHT) to do so.
It's hoped the first patients will be treated in the unit in April 2025.
Speaking to Pirate FM, the RCHT's Chief Executive Officer, Steve Williamson, said he hoped to provide a better environment for patients and staff.
"It will help us increase our outpatient capacity as well so we'll have more space in which to deliver that."
He also hoped "people won't need to travel as often as they currently do for specialist care."
Alongside the work at West Cornwall Hospital, building on new operating facilities at St Austell, and a women and children's hospital in Treliske is taking place.
Mr Williamson said it's "really exciting" these projects are happening over the next couple of years.
"All of that is going to make a difference to our patients and our staff," he added.