The Skanska team has delivered a new hospital which will include five operating theatres, five catheter laboratories (for non-surgical procedures) and two hybrid theatres. There will be 310 beds for patients, including a 46-bed critical care unit, and most patients will have their own single, en-suite rooms.
Royal Papworth staff will now undertake training in the new building, supported by Skanska people who will be responsible for ongoing facilities management services for the next 30 years. The hospital will be equipped with thousands of items of medical equipment, from blood gas analysers and pacemakers to patient beds, linen and scrubs.
Designed by clinicians with patients in mind, the new hospital building will support Royal Papworth staff to deliver excellent care to patients suffering from heart and lung disease.
Design features of the new hospital include:
- Two dedicated lifts to take heart attack patients from the ambulance bay directly to the hospital’s cath labs (where non-surgical procedures take place) in an emergency.
- A link corridor to the adjacent Addenbrooke’s Hospital to support the transfer of patients needing treatment in the two hospitals.
- A dedicated entrance and lift for relatives and friends visiting patients in critical care.
- A specialist air filtering system in the hospital’s cystic fibrosis department to minimise the spread of airborne infections.
- Single, en-suite patient bedrooms to improve patient privacy and dignity and minimise the spread of infection.
- All outpatient and diagnostic services based on the ground floor so that outpatients can access all services in one place without needing to visit the upper floors.
As well as a brand new building and state-of-the-art medical equipment, patients and visitors will also benefit from improved facilities in the new hospital, from a ground floor atrium with restaurant, coffee shop and convenience store, to free Wi-Fi and up to 100 free TV and radio channels in patient bedrooms.
Stephen Posey, Chief Executive at Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said: “It is incredibly exciting to be able to walk through the hospital without hard hats and high-vis jackets and really imagine this impressive building as a fully-functioning heart and lung hospital. After many years of planning, we are now just months away from moving in and starting to realise the huge benefits that the new building and its location on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus will bring for our patients and staff.”
Josie Rudman, Chief Nurse at Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said: “So much thought has gone in to the design of the new hospital and it’s wonderful to see how the layout and the facilities in the new building will help us deliver even better patient care. It is going to be a great place to work and I just can’t wait to get there now.”
Charlie Norris, Project Director for Skanska, commented: “We’re delighted to hand over the building to our customer. We look forward to watching its transformation with the latest medical equipment into a world-class facility. The thousands of hours of work by our people and the supply chain will leave a positive lasting legacy for Cambridge, the UK and beyond.”
Royal Papworth Hospital is the UK’s leading heart and lung hospital, treating more than 100,000 patients each year from across the UK.