A computer-generated 3D film and new pictures have been unveiled showing how the new Women and Children’s Hospital at Treliske could look when built.
Designed by architects Stride Treglown, the new hospital will also serve as the main entrance for the Royal Cornwall Hospital once construction is finished in 2028.
Positioned between the existing Tower Block and Trelawny Wing, the new build will provide a dedicated facility for women and children’s services, from obstetrics and gynaecology to maternity services, neonatal and paediatric care. Key features 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.
Services will be located together more appropriately: for example, a dedicated paediatric assessment unit will be located on the ground floor, closer to the existing paediatric emergency department.
It is said this will improve patients’ experience significantly, and make it easier for clinical staff to work together more effectively in a multi-disciplinary team.
The new main entrance will be 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. The £291million full programme of work includes several enabling projects to be completed before construction commences, the most significant being the construction of a new pathology building; an increase in electrical capacity via an additional main power supply cable; the relocation of the existing cardiac department out of the link corridor area of the site to a new base in Trelawny Wing; and the temporary relocation of the retail pharmacy.
Early work has started with the demolition of six decommissioned houses on Penventinnie Lane to create the construction site compound, and 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.
The Women and Children’s Hospital programme was first conceived over five years ago as a direct and limited re-provision of the maternity services housed in the Princess Alexandra Wing.
The Secretary of State for Health Steve Barclay confirmed on May 25 that all New Hospital Programme “Cohort 2” schemes could proceed. A full business case for the programme should be ready for HM Treasury sign-off by the end of 2024, with main construction works due to commence in 2025.
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.”