A consultation exercise will begin within weeks on plans for the redevelopment of St Mary’s Hospital in north west London.
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust has submitted a revised strategic outline case, prior to commencement of procurement for the multi-million-pound development.
And the next stage of the process will be involving staff, patients, and the public in shaping the plans.
The revamp is needed as much of the site is old and unfit for purpose, with a quarter of buildings developed pre-1948.
And the cost of addressing all of the ‘high risk’ backlog maintenance issues is estimated at £224m.
The poor estate is increasingly causing significant operational problems – with recent examples including a ward ceiling falling down and a flood in the surgical innovation centre.
The trust said the latest estimate is that, without investment, within seven to 10 years there would be ‘an almost certain likelihood of a catastrophic estate failure’ meaning it would have to close services.
In addition, bed occupancy levels are also rising, with the average currently standing at 94%, rising to over 100% at peak times.
The proposed redevelopment includes:
- State-of-the-art clinical facilities for adults and children across three main hospital buildings with a total of 840 beds plus dedicated research, education, and innovation spaces
- Particular strengths in emergency, intensive and trauma care, obstetrics, and neurosciences as well as infectious disease and a new helipad to provide rapid emergency access to the major trauma centre
- Separate hospital buildings for planned and emergency care
- A hub for primary, community, and mental health services as well as social care, community, and voluntary sector services
- The development of a clinical life sciences cluster providing flexible commercial and lab space for life sciences business to start, develop and grow
The trust’s outline timetable has work starting on site in 2024 and completion by 2030.