Foundations to be laid for new £35m Berwick Infirmary building

The foundations of the new Berwick Infirmary building are to be laid, beginning this week.

The £35m hospital project continues apace and this marks the latest landmark in construction, which began earlier this year following an extensive demolition and excavation phase. The new building will house a range of services – with hospital bosses keen to ensure as much as possible is available in Berwick to prevent the need for patients to travel for appointments.

A new temporary 10-bed ward for inpatients, in the maternity car park, will also be operational by July as the construction work will impact on the existing ward. This means some patients who would otherwise be admitted to Berwick Infirmary may instead be taken to Alnwick hospital, and NHS staff will look to care for others, where possible, in the community.

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Maternity, oncology, ambulatory care and the minor injury unit will remain within the Berwick Infirmary building. For the foundation work, a piling machine and other equipment – will be delivered this week. Much of the new hospital is being built off-site by Northumberland contractor Merit in a modular fashion.

Marion Dickson, executive director for nursing, midwifery and allied health professionals at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust which runs Berwick Infirmary, said: “It is just fantastic that we are now at the stage where we can lay the foundations of our new hospital. I know how pleased we all are in the Trust and am sure that all our stakeholders will be too, especially because they will now see major work happening on site. We have all waited so long for this day to come!

““There is something very special about installing the foundations for a hospital, that is being constructed using cutting-edge technology, on a site of such historical importance. Archaeological finds show that those that went before us were forward-thinking in their time and we are certainly continuing this innovative approach in how we will deliver the best possible healthcare well into the future.”

Antony Knapton, project director at Merit, the Trust’s offsite construction partner, said work on the foundations would take around seven weeks. He said: “We would like to reassure residents and other stakeholders that we will do all we can to keep any disruption to a minimum. The piling technology that we have chosen uses a drilling method, rather than banging, so is much less disruptive. If anyone has any concerns, they should please speak to members of the team on site or contact us by email at [email protected].”

Once the foundation work is complete, the frame of the hospital will be built, with stairs and floors installed along with an accessible rooftop. The building will be clad and glazed, and then the modular components will be assembled ahead of the fit-out. Demolition of the old buildings will then follow.

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