Work begins on two new wards at city hospital

Peterborough City Hospital said the work would cause minimal disruption to patients

Offices are being stripped out in the first step towards creating two new inpatient wards at Peterborough City Hospital.

The wards, on the fourth floor, will contain 72 extra beds and are expected to be ready for next winter, a hospital spokesperson said.

It was awarded £12.5m from a national funding initiative to convert the office space that was used by administration teams and some clinical staff.

David Moss, director of estates and facilities said: “It is great to be starting this work, which will make a real difference to our bed capacity and patient waiting times."

From Monday, a compound and external lift will be in place between the main entrance and the emergency department, as waste is removed from the offices.

Traffic was not expected to be impacted, the hospital added, but additional blue badge parking had been created.