Turner & Townsend has been appointed to lead the delivery of ambitious plans for Sunderland’s new eye hospital.
The company was appointed to develop an outline business case for the renewal of the hospital’s existing facilities and is providing project management, cost management, and principal design services for the scheme.
The existing Sunderland Eye Infirmary building was built in 1937 and the plans will ensure the facility can continue to provide leading ophthalmic services for the future.
The multi-disciplinary appointment, under the NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS) framework, covers a comprehensive scope across the anticipated lifecycle of the programme, including the development of business cases, design, tendering and contract, construction and equipment, technical commissioning handover, post completion, operational commissioning, and project evaluation.
Darren Laybourn, strategic lead for the North East and director and global head of healthcare at Turner & Townsend, said: “A renewal of facilities at the eye hospital is an exceptionally important investment for the City of Sunderland, and we are delighted to be bringing our full experience to bear on this project.
“The Eye Infirmary has a long and celebrated history in Sunderland, and we’re glad to be working with the City Council and South Tyneside & Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust to secure that legacy for the years to come.”
The hospital is the latest development planned for Riverside Sunderland, which has been backed by Legal & General and will create a dynamic mixed-use urban quarter in the heart of the city centre.