Frequently asked questions

With our local health and social care partners, we’re working towards building a brand new state-of-the-art hospital at Whipps Cross as part of the Government’s flagship new hospital building programme.

The redevelopment of Whipps Cross offers a historic opportunity to replace an ageing and sprawling estate with a brand new hospital and to transform the wider Whipps Cross site with new homes, new green and public spaces, other health and care services and community facilities.

Below you'll find answers to some of the frequently asked questions.

What services will be in the new hospital?

The new hospital will maximise clinical space and use advanced technology to reprovide andenhance existing services, including maternity and a 24-hour emergency department. More peoplewill be seen and treated on the same day. For patients who are admitted, at least 70% of inpatientbeds will be in single-occupancy rooms.

With a flexible and modern design the new hospital will be easier to find your way around, be able to adapt to changing levels of demand.

When will the new hospital be completed and how much will it cost?

Outline planning permission was granted for the new hospital in November 2021.

Work to demolish disused buildings to prepare the ground for the new hospital was completed in May 2022.

Phase one of construction started in summer 2024 when work began on the first of two multi-storey car parks which must be competed before work on the new hospital itself can begin.

Subject to full approval by national government, we expect construction on the new Whipps Cross Hospital to start in 2026 and be completed in 2030.

The overall capital requirement for the the new hospital will be informed by the detailed design work that underpins the development of the Outline Business Case. This will then be subject to approval by national government.

What will happen to the rest of the site?

As the the new hospital will be much taller it will reprovide and enhance services on a much smaller footprint. This provides an opportunity to redevelop the wider site to provide new homes, create new parks and green spaces, and provide greater flood protection.

As part of our plans, we have outline planning permission for up to 1,500 new homes, 50% of which will be affordable. There will also be up to 5,000sqm of retail, retaurant/cafe and community space.

As part of our commitment to the environment we will create 58,500sqm of newly planted publicly accessible green spaces, the equivalent of around 8 football pitches.

Through planting and other measures we will improve biodiversity by 10% on the site and install new flood mitigations.

 

How will the new development address surface water flooding?

The major flooding incident at Whipps Cross in July 2021 once again showed how vulnerable the hospital is to such events. 

Our flood prevention plans include incorporating green roofs and attenuation tanks (which collect and store excess water) to reduce the run-off rate of surface water to avoid overloading drainage systems during heavy rain. There will also be a critical drainage area set aside, including natural ponds, to further improve drainage and increase biodiversity and water quality.

These plans can only be delivered in full through the redevelopment of the hospital and the wider Whipps Cross site.

How many beds will the new Whipps Cross have?

Our plans include the flexibility to provide up to 600 overnight inpatient beds should that prove necessary. That's more beds than in the current hospital.

We will keep reviewing this during the planning and construction phases to make sure that when the new hospital opens it meets local demand for healthcare.

 

How will specialist palliative and end of life care be delivered in the new hospital?

Specialist inpatient end-of-life care at Whipps Cross is provided in the Margaret Centre unit and on an increasing number of acute wards. The Margaret Centre and these wards have all been recognised for their outstanding levels of care, having been awarded the nationally-recognised Gold Standard Framework.

However, the Margaret Centre building itself presents certain challenges due to its original design as a paediatric care facility. The rooms are smaller compared to modern standards and those found in the main hospital and the external stand-alone nature of the building poses difficulties for patient transfers during inclement weather conditions. The clinical and operational teams are actively working with the hospital estates team to enhance the décor of the rooms, although this will not address the size limitations or the absence of ensuite facilities, which are preferred by clinicians, patients and their families.

With significantly more single occupancy rooms, we should be confident that further improvements to specialist palliative and end-of-life care will be enabled by the new Whipps Cross Hospital - through provision of this type of care on all acute wards - with or without an additional dedicated specialist unit.

Will there be enough car parking spaces?

Yes. We're also planning for the site to be easier to get to using many different transport options.

In line with local and regional policy we are aiming to reduce reliance on car use to the hospital to support a significant reduction in car parking spaces at the hospital over several years.

To do this, we are developing an active travel plan to encourage our staff to use alternative transport options - including walking, cycling and public transport - to support a gradual reduction in car use and a consequent reduction in the overall demand for car parking spaces.

We are also discussing with local partners, including Transport for London, the opportunities for improving public transport, particularly bus connections.

Our car parks will be fully accessible for disabled drivers and their passengers and have electric charging points.  There will also be dedicated drop off/pick up facilities making access simpler, safer, and as practical as possible.

What will the new car park look like and when will it be completed?

The first phase of construction began in July 2024, with the start of construction on the first of two multi-storey car parks. The work will take approximately 12 months.  

This is an artist's impression of the first of two new multi-storey car parks at Whipps Cross Hospital

The car park will include:

  • an initial 100 electric vehicle charging bays,
  • parking for 24 motorcycles, and 
  • 50 accessible spaces 

When the car park opens in summer 2025 most spaces will be for staff, with 47 reserved for patients and visitors.

The design of the car park was reviewed by the Design Council and subject to statutory consultation. The design responds to local feedback, will be secure and well-lit, and is compliant with a range of local and national policies including LBWF planning policies, NHS Health Building Notes (setting technical standards for the NHS estate), and ‘Park Mark’ (A status awarded to parking facilities that have met the requirements of a risk assessment conducted by the police).