8 March 2023

A new £47 million building at Frimley Park Hospital providing state-of-the-art diagnostic facilities and additional wards, all within a modern environment, has taken two massive steps forward.

Planning permission has been granted by Surrey Heath Borough Council and the outline business case (OBC) for the development has been approved by NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care, both subject to conditions.

The new three-storey modular building will be linked to the main hospital building making access and delivery of services easier and more efficient.

Nigel Foster, Executive Director of Finance and Estates at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, said: “This marks the exciting start of our latest transformational development of Frimley Park and we are delighted to have secured planning consent and OBC approval for this much-needed new building. It represents a significant investment and will play an important part in our ambitious plans and ongoing commitment to deliver first-class patient care to local people.”

The new building is scheduled to be ready for use by late summer 2024, creating extra, much-needed space and a greatly improved environment for patients and staff. It will offer:

• 74 inpatient beds – two storeys offering a combination of single rooms and four-bed bays
• Dedicated breast care diagnostic and outpatient unit - providing a ‘one stop’ service in a much-improved modern environment
• State-of-the-art imaging centre - providing increased capacity and capability with the latest diagnostic imaging equipment (comprising three CT scanners, two MRI scanners and two gamma cameras), all within comfortable, purpose-built accommodation

The additional beds, including far more single rooms, will help the hospital reduce elective waiting lists, allow it to better cope with Covid and seasonal pressures, and enable ward refurbishments and remedial work for areas affected by RAAC (reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete).

Nigel Foster added: “During the construction phase, we will do all we can to mitigate disruption, however we recognise that there will be some and we thank our patients, visitors and staff for your understanding while we work hard to deliver these much-needed improvements.”

Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust is continuing to progress its business case for the longer term redevelopment of Frimley Park Hospital.