Hospital extension welcomes first patients

An extension to a hospital in Surrey has opened to its first patients.

Frimley Park Hospital will eventually be home to 74 new beds, a dedicated breast care outpatient unit and a medical imaging centre, Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust said.

The three-storey extension to the Surrey Heath site cost of £49m and took 16 months to build.

The trust said the facilities would provide much-needed extra bed capacity and would get patients into treatment quicker by increasing the number of appointments available.

The new building also features a high dependency unit and respiratory, rheumatology and general medicine wards.

A CT scanner and gamma camera are expected to be in operation from next Monday, while the rest of the diagnostic facilities and the breast care unit "will open later in the summer", according to the trust.

Lance McCarthy, the trust's chief executive officer, said: "This represents a significant investment in the services and facilities we can provide for our local communities."

The government has pledged to start rebuilding Frimley Park Hospital at a cost of up to £2bn by 2030, as about two thirds of the building is made from unstable reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac).

A site for the replacement hospital is expected to be announced in May.

"The new building will help us to continue delivering high standards of care for our patients as we drive towards a new Frimley Park Hospital," Mr McCarthy said.

The NHS trust also plans to improve the car park at the existing site.

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