WORK is progressing on four major new additions to Great Western Hospital – and three should be finished by the summer.
The hospital has shown off a 3D architect’s impression of what the new urgent treatment centre will look like inside as well as a bird’s-eye view of ongoing construction of the radiotherapy centre (built in partnership with Oxford University Hospital) and energy centre. All three are due to be completed this summer.
The energy centre will provide heat and power to both the new urgent treatment centre and the hospital’s urgent and emergency care development.
The eco-friendly facility will help GWH achieve its NHS Net Zero Carbon target through the installation of air source heat pumps, which require an electricity supply to provide both heating and cooling without burning any fossil fuels.
For years, the Adver backed the Brighter Futures charity’s £2 million Radiotherapy Appeal to help the hospital fundraise enough money to pay for the state-of-the-art radiotherapy unit which will provide cancer treatments that patients currently need to travel to Oxford several times a week to access.
The new urgent treatment centre will be more eco-friendly and larger than the old one -and the structure provides a ground floor upon which four new stories could be built if future vertical expansions are given the go-ahead.
An already-approved expansion on the land near the hospital pencilled in for 2024 which could include a rehabilitation centre, a private healthcare facility, a medical equipment sterilisation unit, a mental health facility, cancer services, and more.
GWH chief executive Kevin McNamara said: “This is a really exciting time for our organisation as many development projects will open in the coming months.
"In partnership with Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, our new radiotherapy centre is set to open later this year and this will bring treatment for cancer closer to home for so many patients, saving a 70-mile round trip to Oxford.
“We will be opening our new urgent treatment centre soon, which is powered by renewable energy making it much more sustainable. The new UTC will be bigger and more modern than our current facility, allowing us to treat more patients promptly.
“The UTC will be the first of our urgent and emergency care developments, followed by the expansion and co-location of the emergency department and other assessment areas. Work is set to begin on this development towards the end of this year.
“The hospital has been facing high demand for many years and these are positive steps in helping us care for the growing and ageing local population of Swindon and the surrounding areas."
Watch a video about the new additions to the hospital:
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