Somerset NHS Foundation Trust wanted to give an update on the two major capital projects developments at Musgrove Park Hospital – their new surgical centre and establishing a new acute assessment hub for their urgent and emergency surgical patients.
Somerset NHS Foundation Trust are pleased to report that they now have full planning permission from the district council for both developments, as well as NHS Improvement’s approval of the full business case for the acute assessment hub and funding to start some early works on the surgical centre.
These are significant steps in both projects and it means they can now proceed to some of the more visible aspects, such as the actual building work.
New surgical centre
The surgical centre will include state-of-the-art operating theatres, a critical care unit and an endoscopy suite. It will improve patient experience as it will replace much of Musgrove’s ageing 1940s buildings where some of the most critically ill people in Somerset are cared for.
Critical care services will be provided in a modern, high quality and adaptable building that’s able to meet the future needs of patients as medicine and healthcare make further advances.
The original hospital was built during the Second World War as a temporary casualty evacuation hospital for the D-Day landings, but has become increasingly difficult to maintain.
Early building works will commence in mid-August to prepare the hospital site for the start of the main construction in early 2022.
Acute assessment hub
This development will move their surgical assessment unit closer to the hospital’s emergency department which will mean faster access to consultants and surgeons and quicker assessments for patients who may require emergency surgery. It’s expected to be complete in early 2022.
The contract for the acute assessment hub relocation was signed last week so their contractor, Kier, has begun preparation work with a view to starting the main building works in mid-August.
The work will take approximately two years to complete and will also involve a new three storey building for their therapies department. This will be in place of the Q-Park lodge, which was relocated earlier in the month to the opposite end of the Duchess Building.
Dr Daniel Meron, our chief medical officer, said he was pleased with the progress of the surgical centre and acute assessment hub developments.
“We are excited about being able to care for and treat our patients in state-of-the-art operating theatres and critical care facilities, as well as providing more rapid assessment for patients who need surgery” he said.
“It’s particularly exciting that we are now starting to see the early building works taking place ahead of the main construction, which will begin over the next couple of years.”