Bosses of the new Frimley Park Hospital are ‘delighted’ to get the go-ahead after rebuild plans were put at risk.
In July, the new Labour government announced it would review the programme it is part of, the Conservatives New Hospitals Plan, to address a £22 billion ‘black hole’ in its finances.
The scheme promised to deliver 40 new hospitals across the country by 2030 and included Frimley Park and nearby Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading.
But on September 20 the Department of Health and Social Care removed all Raac hospitals from the review, recognising that they are of ‘urgent’ priority.
Frimley Park Hospital was built in the 1970s and is made up of around two thirds of crumbling concrete, known as Raac.
Following the news, Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust has said it is ‘delighted’ to have the rebuild confirmed.
Caroline Hutton, deputy chief executive at Frimley Health said: “We are being actively supported by the national New Hospital Programme to maintain progress to ensure the new hospital will be open as soon as possible.
“While we were always confident that our new hospital would remain a priority, we know the announcement of the review into the national new hospital programme raise questions and uncertainty, so we welcome this additional clarity and renewed commitment.”
The new hospital is expected to cost more than £1 billion and will be twice the size of the existing site.
Ms Hutton added that the rebuild of the Surrey-based hospital is an ‘exciting, once-in-a-generation opportunity for us to transform the future of healthcare’.
This includes delivering a ‘Hospital 2.0’ which will be built with modern technologies and construction methods to produce an ‘optimised hospital layout’.
£30 million has already been spent on removing the dangerous Raac from the current site.
The ‘significant and extensive programme of work’ undertaken will continue to cost a high amount, according to the trust.
Patients, staff and local communities will continue to be ‘informed and involved as our journey continues’.
The NHS Trust has identified potential sites for the move, but these remain confidential due to being ‘commercially sensitive’. Some local authorities have been consulted in pre-application talks, which have remained private.
It previously said it was ‘unable to give a definitive timeline’ for when alternative locations could be revealed.
These must be five miles from the current site, in Surrey Heath.
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