Residents, patients and staff are being invited to give feedback on the early designs of the new Specialist Emergency Care Hospital, which will be built on the grounds of a former Sutton hospital.
The new facility is set to be part of a new project launched by Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust.
Public consultation events will take place later this month, after approval for the hospital to go ahead was given in November last year. The first designs have now been released to the public.
The new structure will be part of the group of 40 hospitals that the UK government has committed to building by 2030, and will feature a new multi-story car park for staff, patients, and visitors. A new website has been launched to inform local residents of the new plans, plus artists impressions are available for the first time since the hospital gained approval.
The Specialist Emergency Care Hospital will have 500 new beds, and over 70% of the rooms will be single occupancy. As part of the specialist Emergency Care Hospital, six major services will be brought together: A&E, Critical Care, Acute Medicine, Emergency Surgery, Inpatient Paediatrics, and Maternity Services.
The new hospital site will be powered with electricity only, rather than relying on fossil fuels. Sustainability measures will form a key part of the plans, with features such as electric vehicle charging points, bicycle and e-bike spaces, and using fully recyclable materials.
Chief Executive of Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, Daniel Elkeles, said: “We are incredibly proud to be leading the Building Your Future Hospitals programme – the dedicated programme of work to build a new Specialist Emergency Care Hospital in Sutton and extensively refurbish the buildings and facilities at Epsom Hospital and St Helier Hospital.
“Building Your Future Hospitals represents the biggest investment in healthcare in the region for a generation. It will transform Epsom and St Helier hospitals and ensure that local people can access the care they need – from urgent care to outpatient appointments, and much more – in facilities that are fit for 21st century healthcare.
“In addition, a brand-new hospital facility will be built on the old Sutton Hospital site (directly next to the Royal Marsden Hospital and the Institute of Cancer Research). This is an incredible development and will mean that Epsom, St Helier and the Specialist Emergency Care Hospital will be here to care for you and your families for generations to come.
“Our nurses, doctors, estates experts and other health and social care workers have been working incredibly hard to set out the initial designs of the new hospital, and we want local residents to have their say before we get any further in the planning application process. The plans will bring a vast array of improvements and have already been further enhanced as a result of what we have learnt from COVID-19, including making sure 72% of hospital beds are in single en-suite rooms compared to the 20% we can offer now, and a 28-bed ITU compared to the 15 beds we currently have. Please join us at one of our virtual online events and give us your feedback.”
Work on the site is expected to begin in the summer of 2022, after a thorough public consultation and planning process.
Online public webinars will take place during June, on the following dates, 17 June – 6pm-7.30pm, 19 June – 10am-11.30am, 23 June –11:30am-1pm.
Visit the website to view the new proposals here.
