City council approves plans for new ￡26.5m replacement outpatients building at Haywood Hospital

Plans to replace MPFT’s outpatients building at Haywood Community Hospital with a new multi-million pound facility have taken a big step forward following their approval by Stoke-on-Trent City Council.

The council’s Planning Committee has given the green light to the proposal, which includes replacing the existing building with a modern, fit for the future facility that will support the best delivery of care for patients.

The Outline Business Case for the plans has also been approved by NHS England (NHSE), and work is now underway on developing the Final Business Case.

The new building will still be accessed via the existing main hospital buildings and will continue to house existing services, including outpatient rheumatology services, diagnostics, physiotherapy and neuro-therapy. It will include sustainable energy sources and more efficient construction methods to meet net zero carbon targets.

The current outpatients building contains Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) within its roof; this is a form of prefabricated concrete plank which has become outdated and a national programme is underway by NHSE to remove RAAC from all NHS buildings.

MPFT has been allocated ￡18.2m through this national programme, with the remaining ￡8.3m required to develop the new building having been sourced from local capital allocations.

Neil Carr, Trust Chief Executive said: “We are committed to investing in the future of health and care to make life better for the communities we serve, and this exciting new development to replace the outpatients building at Haywood Hospital with a new ￡26.5m facility will serve to improve the lives of local people.

“This major investment for the people of Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent will enable our staff and teams to work more closely together than ever before to deliver services that more effectively tackle health challenges being faced locally.”

The Trust has selected Tilbury Douglas, a leading UK building, infrastructure and engineering firm, as its main contractor to design and build the replacement outpatients building.

More information about the project can be viewed at www.mpft.nhs.uk/getting-involved/haywood-hospital-redevelopment