Whitehaven hospital rebuild to be finished by summer 2024

The trust said the second phase of the development is on track to be completed in Summer 2024

A hospital which is in the process of being rebuilt is set to open next summer, trust bosses have said.

Work is under way on the £40m second phase to redevelop West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven, Cumbria.

About 40% of the facility is being replaced after much of the hospital was demolished as part of the first phase of works in 2015.

Construction includes wards for paediatrics, the elderly, palliative care and stroke rehabilitation.

Last year, the Department of Health approved the plans to help improve facilities, especially for stroke and elderly patients.

Building work started in May that year, but North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust said it had made "fantastic progress".

A new four-bed ward has been created for elderly patients

Trust chief executive Lyn Simpson said the new building would "make such a difference to both our patients and staff".

Among the plans, the elderly unit will relocate, with the creation of single and four-bedded bays to aid social interaction.

An outdoor courtyard has been built, which will also allow day light to enter the stroke wards.

"The space is immense compared to what we have now," Kerry Morris, the stroke ward's deputy manager, said.

She said the new site would also improve patient access as rehabilitation facilities would all be "centred right here".

The government is funding much of the rebuild, while the trust previously said it would meet the refurbishment costs.