New Hinchingbrooke Hospital 'will transform care'

Deborah Lee, the trust's senior responsible officer for the Hinchingbrooke redevelopment, said everyone was excited about the new plans

Plans for a new hospital to replace one severely affected by reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) will "transform" the way care is given, the project leader said.

Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Cambridgeshire was one of four in the East of England with Raac in some of its walls and roof, causing ongoing structural issues.

The hospital in Huntingdon has been included in the first wave of the government's New Hospital Programme with construction due to start by 2028.

It is not yet known how long the build will take to complete but the cost could be up to £1bn.

The new building will be on the southern corner of the existing site, so services can continue during the construction process.

Deborah Lee, in charge of delivering the building project "on time and within budget", said the new plans represented a "really exciting step".

"We are largely replacing most of the hospital... so, 75% of it is affected by... Raac, which means we need to replace that," she said.

An artist's impression of how the new hospital site will look

Most of the current hospital will be demolished under the new plans although newer parts such as the treatment centre and theatre block will be unchanged.

However, the existing hospital will not be demolished until the new one is built to try to minimise the disruption for patients.

Staff accommodation will also be built before the old housing area is demolished to make way for the main hospital building.

New access roads and power will be built and installed.

"Really importantly, this is going to be a sustainable hospital - it will be 100% electric," Ms Lee said.

It is hoped construction could begin in 2028 but as a building contractor has not yet been appointed, she said the trust did not know how long it would take to complete the build.

'Transforming care'

In terms of the cost, she said: "We've been given a budget and that range is from £500m to £1bn.

"Modern building standards have changed dramatically since this hospital opened in 1984 so the main changes will be the amount of space there is, " Ms Lee added.

The new hospital will have single rooms for all patients, rather than wards.

Ms Lee added: "This is an opportunity not just to transform the buildings but to transform the way we deliver care, so we're working really closely with our clinical colleagues, with colleagues in general practice to really reimagine how we can deliver care.

"And patients are central to that - to reimagine together what 21st or 22nd Century care could look like."

Sally Cotton's ward had to be moved because of the hospital's Raac issues

Sally Cotton, ward manager on the cardio-respiratory unit, said her ward had been moved so work on the Raac issues could take place.

Asked about the new hospital plans she said: "We're really, really excited.

"We're all working closely with the teams to get everybody's idea forward - it's nice to be involved in those discussions."

Having new technology and a new building would be "fabulous" she added.

An impression of how the new staff accommodation building might look