£8 million Wisbech hospital redevelopment plan announced
An £8 million redevelopment of the North Cambs Hospital in Wisbech has been outlined.
Health chiefs say the three-year project will begin this autumn and will see several buildings refurbished.
The Arthur Rank Hospice charity will also double the size of its Alan Hudson Day Treatment Centre.
Matthew Winn, chief executive of the Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust, said: “Our plans will ensure a vibrant local base for health services for the local population for years to come.
“We want to provide a great facility for the benefit of local people. Our plans are sufficiently flexible to enable further development on site including in support of the ‘Wisbech 2020 vision’ and local regeneration schemes.”
The initial phase this autumn will see part of the vacant Rowan Lodge building refurbished to accommodate musculo-skeletal physiotherapy services. Outpatient services, delivered by the Queen Elizabeth Hospital trust, will also move into the building by the autumn of 2019.
A new clinical area will also be created in the existing kitchen and dining block by the autumn of next year while a new entrance and waiting area, including a cafe, is set to be completed by autumn 2020.
The trust says redundant and out of date buildings will be demolished to make way for new parking and landscape areas, while an energy centre will also be built to provide sustainable heating.
Malcolm Bruce, chairman of the hospital’s Friends group, said: “We are absolutely delighted to hear about this investment which will result in tremendous improvements on the site.
“Services closer to home are so important for our community and we look forward to continuing our fund-raising activities and longstanding positive relationship with health service providers in the coming years.”
Arthur Rank Hospice chief executive Dr Lynn Morgan added: “We are pleased that we will be co-located with these exciting plans for the wider site, all of which will mean a significant upgrade of healthcare facilities for Wisbech and the surrounding area.”
