BDP-designed trauma centre is part of the first cohort of the government’s New Hospital programme
Laing O’Rourke has completed a 13-storey trauma centre for the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton as part of the first cohort of the government’s £20bn New Hospital Programme.
The Louisa Martindale Building is expected to treat more than 100,000 patients a year and provides increased capacity for units with high demand such as neurosciences, stroke services and intensive care.
Its opening marks the completion of stage one of a 14-year project known as the ‘3 Ts’, bringing teaching, trauma and tertiary care facilities to the region. New diagnostic and theatre capacity is accompanied by new scanning equipment including MRIs and CT scanners for the imaging department housed in the building.
The scheme’s lead architect BDP engaged in detailed negotiations with the local planning authority and Historic England to fit the large-scale hospital building into a constrained and historic site in Brighton.
All the patient rooms face south with views over the English Channel. BDP’s Architect Director, Enzo Guddemi, explains that “the Louisa Martindale building is designed to deliver a reassuring, calming atmosphere for patients and staff to support and enhance the amazing care provided by the Trust.”
The completion comes weeks after the government announced a £20bn relaunch of its New Hospital Progamme. It has added five new hospitals to the list of 40 originally pledged by Boris Johnson in 2019.
The government in May confirmed it will use a modular design approach dubbed ‘Hospital 2.0’ to finish the programme’s projects 25% faster.
Also read>> Rebooting the New Hospital Programme: Is this the solution to the NHS backlog?
Gavin Body, project leader at Laing O’Rourke said the Royal Sussex County building “will transform the way that doctors and nurses can care for their patients” and praises his team for “maintaining focus throughout the pandemic and beyond.”
Stage two of the development is now underway to create a new Sussex Cancer Centre and emergency department. During stage one, the town planning team led extensive negotiations on the complex Section 106 Agreement and planning conditions, and continues to consult on behalf of University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust for stages two and three of the project.
The opening of the trauma unit follows BDP’s completion of the new £150m Paterson building for the Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester in May.
The practice also got the green light for a £65m expansion of Birmingham’s Children’s Hospital earlier this week, while its plans for a new £150m entrance building for Great Ormond Street Hospital in Camden were approved in February.
No comments yet