New resident doctors
Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust are pleased to share that the new Frimley Park Hospital planning and development continues to make very good progress. It will be a brand-new NHS hospital offering local people the most modern and advanced diagnoses, treatment, therapy and care, and it will play a central role in enhancing health services across community settings and at home. This will mean faster diagnosis and treatment, more people cared for, better experience and outcomes and a great place to work.
In January 2025, the government committed to investing over £1.5 billion to build a new 800 bed acute hospital and transform care provision throughout the community. The new hospital is essential because our existing buildings, which opened in 1974, are made from RAAC concrete, which is reaching the end of its life and requires a rolling programme of costly and disruptive maintenance. Furthermore, the design and size of the hospital is no longer appropriate for today’s healthcare needs.
The recently announced NHS 10 Year Plan has also provided the opportunity to align the new hospital development to support the wider improvements and investments that are planned for our three main sites and local and neighbourhood health services. This includes an opportunity to increase theatre capacity at Heatherwood Hospital, develop neighbourhood health models with our partners, and increase virtual care in the community.
Site selection progress
Since our last update we are pleased to report that we have made strong progress towards selecting a site for the new hospital, working closely with our national NHS colleagues. We are only looking at sites within five miles of the existing Frimley Park Hospital and have examined a list of 17 options.
Since confirmation of the funding approval earlier this year, we have also received confirmation of the new hospital’s size. Subject to the designs being completed, the new hospital will be over one-million square-feet.
After receiving this hospital size, we have been working with architects, health planners, construction consultants, and other experts to assess factors such as accessibility, utilities, infrastructure, value, and environmental impact of each of the sites.
We are committed to sharing our preferred site with you as soon as possible following the completion of this rigorous evaluation process, which needs to be approved by the national new hospital programme.
Hospital designs
Alongside site selection, we are also progressing with our hospital designs, using the national Hospital 2.0 template to create a cutting-edge facility with single rooms, centralised surgical services, advanced digital technology, and net-zero carbon initiatives.
This design work has been clinically led and everything is developed alongside our partners in the national new hospital programme who have their experts working with our teams . The current design process is focused on the agreed service requirements and the clinical adjacencies needed to ensure patient safety and pathway flow. These designs are informed by research and feedback from patients and communities so that the services represent the latest clinical knowledge and practice and incorporate local patient, people and staff views, expertise and experience.
Our timeline
We’re also making rapid progress in developing our business case process. This can often be a long and complicated stage, but it is essential in ensuring we receive government approval of our plans. There are three business cases we need to complete before we can begin building the new hospital. The first, our Strategic Outline Case, sets out the high-level approach for our new hospital e.g. the size, initial design, location options, cost and strategies underpinning the models of care. This is due to be submitted in the autumn.
Once a preferred site has been announced, formal local authority planning processes will begin. We remain firmly on track to meet the government’s revised plan for construction of the new Frimley Park Hospital, which is set to begin between 2028 and 2029.
Our target timeline outlines our path to construction
We appreciate your patience as it is taking longer than we had anticipated to be able to share our preferred site selection, but it is crucial that we get these final steps right. We need to make sure our site selection delivers the best value for the NHS, while offering the greatest long-term solution for our staff and patients. All our plans are monitored carefully by the national NHS teams and the Department of Health and Social Care who help ensure that we are also progressing as rapidly as possible.
We will continue to keep you informed and share the latest news with you. For the latest updates, please visit our dedicated programme page on our website or join our WhatsApp broadcast channel.
Thank you for your continued support as we work toward a healthier future for our community.
All information was accurate at the time of publication
