Work beings on new £87m Musgrove surgical centre

Rebecca Pow MP joined staff to cut the turf as work on the new surgical centre began

Work on a new £87m surgical centre in Somerset has begun.

The new centre will replace the current hospital theatres and critical care unit at Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton.

The current site was built during World War Two as part of a temporary casualty evacuation hospital for the D-Day landings.

Colin Drummond, chairman of Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, said it will provide facilities patients deserve.

Mr Drummond, the chairman of the foundation trust, said: "It will make a huge difference to the service we can offer and the experience of our patients."

'An important milestone'

The new centre, which is scheduled to open in early summer 2025, will include six endoscopy rooms, patient recovery and clinical support areas, eight operating theatres and 22 critical care beds, all specified for level two and three critical care patients.

Dr Daniel Meron, chief medical officer at the trust, said the building work was an "important milestone in the future of surgery and critical care in Somerset."

He added: "Our new centre will be there to support them through surgery and intensive care."

The new centre will include six endoscopy rooms and 22 critical-care beds

Rebecca Pow, MP for Taunton Deane, who cut the turf marking the beginning of the work, said the new "state-of-the-art surgical centre", will be an "enormous benefit for the people not just of Taunton Deane but also the whole of Somerset".

"It will provide a fitting work place for the hard working, dedicated and professional NHS staff," she added.Part of the government's new hospital programme, Mr Drummond said further developments are planned for the site, including a new maternity and paediatric centre which should be completed by 2030.