Work one the new Emergency Care Building at Derriford Hospital is expected to start in the summer after the Government announced its updated New Hospital Programme on January 20.
The new state-of-the-art facility will replace Derriford’s current Emergency Department, which is not fit for purpose, by creating space to care in a modern healthcare environment that our community has long required.
Plans for an improved Emergency Care Building for the south west peninsula’s major trauma centre have been in the pipeline for several years with a huge amount of hard work and dedication from everyone involved, as well as strong support from the local community, including cross party support from local MPs.
Future Hospital director Stuart Windsor said:
“This is a milestone announcement for patients and staff at University Hospitals Plymouth and we could not be more delighted with today’s news.
“I want to thank all our partners and advocates who have worked so hard to campaign for this much needed facility for our loved ones here in the south west and the New Hospital Programme for recognising what a difference this project will make to the safe care of patients at their time of greatest need.
“The local population is unique in comparison to some other areas of the country which are better connected by infrastructure and access to healthcare. We are so excited about the changes we will be able to make because of this significant investment into our estate – which is the next step in our vision for improved healthcare facilities at our hospital and in our community.
“Finally, I want to thank all the teams involved and their dedication to get us to this stage. We have been waiting a long time for this assurance and I know that we are all committed to getting spades in the ground to deliver the new Emergency Care Building and welcoming our first patients through the doors.”
Dr Ian McCarthy, Emergency Medicine Consultant, said:
“The current emergency medicine facilities are approaching 50 years old and don’t represent what we want to do for our patients.
We want to look after our patients in modern emergency facilities to be able to provide modern emergency medicine. This is going to be transformational for the people of the south west in terms of what we can provide for them and how we can look after them.”
Contractors are already working on the demolition of existing areas to make way for the new building. Construction is expected to start in earnest in early summer 2025 with an anticipated completion date of autumn 2028 for the new building, and summer 2029 for the Children’s Emergency Department that follows.
The new Emergency Care Building will span four floors, and will provide a step change in terms of clinical accommodation. The ground floor of the new building will allow patients to be assessed quickly on arrival and then treated in the most appropriate area.
The ground floor will also provide the space where our sickest patients are treated and will have access to the full range of diagnostic imaging needed. This area will provide nearly twice the capacity of the current facility.
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Once the new building opens, the old Emergency Department will be converted into a new dedicated children’s facility, which will provide the right space to care for the full range of patients and their families and carers. The second floor of the new building will be devoted to Same Day Emergency Care. This floor will see and treat patients where hospital treatment is absolutely needed, but where ongoing care is best provided in the community. The area will also have a new short stay area, and facilities for our frailest patients.
The third floor will provide four new state of the art operating theatres that allow diagnosis and treatment to be carried out whilst guided by modern imaging techniques. This is critical to the Trust’s role as the Major Trauma Centre, for neurosurgery and the treatment of stroke. The fourth and final floor will be home to five new operating theatres for emergency and planned surgery. The new building will link into the existing Derriford Hospital, providing easy access to the full range of medical, surgical and specialists wards.
Alongside the new Emergency Care Building, the new Dartmoor Building is also currently under construction and is due to be completed Spring 2025. This is a critical step in allowing the construction of the new Emergency Care Building to take place and will provide a new Urgent Treatment Centre and Fracture Clinic, alongside a new Outpatient facility.
News of the go-ahead for the Derriford Emergency Care Building has been welcomed by Plymouth’s three MPs.
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Fred Thomas, MP for Plymouth Moor View, said:
“Ever since I was elected as an MP, I’ve been fighting hard for a new emergency department at Derriford. I know how much people rely on Derriford, and how hard the staff work in challenging circumstances. I’m thrilled that the Government have listened to us and decided to give Derriford the new A&E it needs. I will continue working with the Government to make sure this is delivered as quickly as possible.”
Luke Pollard, MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, said:
“This is excellent news for Plymouth. I have fought tooth and nail for a new emergency department at Derriford since I was elected.
“The Conservatives left the future of Derriford up in the air. Unforgivably, they promised us an emergency department without setting aside the money to build it.
“On behalf of staff and patients, I am delighted that we are in wave one of the government’s hospital programme and have the green light to get on with construction.”
Rebecca Smith, MP for South West Devon, said:
“I am pleased after playing politics with our NHS for six months, the Government has finally relented and agreed to honour its manifesto commitment to fund Derriford’s new A&E I have campaigned relentlessly to save the project since elected; this is a huge win for Plymouth and the surrounding area.
“We cannot tackle NHS wait times without first getting a grip on the queue of
ambulances outside of Derriford’s A&E. It never should have been delayed in the first place, and I urge the Government to now work at pace to make up for lost time.
