Musgrove Park Hospital, part of the Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, is set to benefit from a new on-site development project to build a multimillion-pound eye theatre facility.
The estimated cost of the project is £4.4 million and the new ophthalmic suite would be part of the Musgrove 2030 project – an ambitious plan to overhaul the facilities at the hospital. With the construction of the new suite, capacity on eye wards should be significantly increased.
With COVID-19 restrictions in place, patients will be able visit the suite straight from the car park without needing to visit the main hospital building.
In addition to the new theatre, a new outpatient facility for macular surgery is being developed at Chard Hospital, which is also part of the Somerset NHS FT.
Mr Pradeep Madhavan, an orthopaedic consultant at Somerset NHS FT, said: “This new unit will be a modern facility that will allow ophthalmic patients to continue with their surgical treatment safely and in time, without being unduly affected by conditions in the rest of the hospital and community. The project is moving at pace and is a tribute to the team spirit within the department of ophthalmology and expertise and leadership in various parts of our NHS trust.”
The project is subject to planning permission and will be discussed by Somerset West and Taunton Council at a planning meeting in early summer.
