Progress on Whipps Cross redevelopment
Plans for a brand new hospital at Whipps Cross are taking a further step forward following confirmation that work can begin to prepare the site earmarked for redevelopment.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has granted funding to undertake surveys on land and buildings in the south west corner of the site, currently occupied by the derelict former nurses’ accommodation.
This area is emerging as the preferred location for a new build, and the disused buildings would have to be demolished in the first phase of the redevelopment. The surveys will check for any asbestos in the structure or potential environmental contamination of the land.
DHSC has not yet shared its formal feedback on the business case for the new hospital, but it has agreed in principle to fund the costs of taking forward the redevelopment programme over the next 12 months. This means the Trust can appoint architects to take forward work on the potential design of a state-of-the-art hospital with the in-built flexibility to respond to the critical care pressures the current hospital is managing.
Alwen Williams, group chief executive, said: “There will be ample opportunities for staff, patients and our local communities to be involved, so that we end up building a hospital that reflects what people need. I live locally to Whipps Cross so, both as the chief executive of the Trust and a local resident, I am really excited about how well this work is progressing. We remain on track in spite of the enormous challenges we face in responding to the operational demands of dealing with Covid-19.”
Read more from Alwen about the “heroic efforts of our staff in these difficult times” in the latest Whipps Cross redevelopment newsletter. Members of the public are invited to email any comments and questions to FutureWhipps.BartsHealth@nhs.net.