Phase Two of West Cumberland Hospital rebuild approved

North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust has announced that the Outline Business Case for phase two of the redevelopment of West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven has been approved by the NHS Trust Development Authority Investment Committee.

The Investment Committee approved the total capital cost of £31.795m subject to approval of the Final Business Case (FBC) when final costs are provided.

Phase one of the redevelopment is almost complete, with the new hospital building opening to patients in April 2015. Work will begin on phase two in summer 2015 which will involve completely refurbishing parts of the existing building and the creation of a new main entrance and car park.

Les Morgan, director of redevelopment for the Trust said: “This is further cause for celebration for our staff and the community of West Cumbria as we have now achieved the necessary approvals to keep the full redevelopment moving forward.

“Subject to FBC approval, phase two can begin with earnest after the new hospital opens in spring. Phase two will allow us to transform parts of the existing building to match up to our brand new building and an impressive new main entrance and car park will be created.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the clinical and staff teams who have contributed their ideas and expertise to ensure our new hospital is a state-of-art facility ready to deliver modern healthcare and the new hospital project team who have steered the project through all of its stages.”

You can find the statement on their site at

http://healthwatchcumbria.co.uk/trust-a-step-closer-to-next-phase-of-west-cumberland-hospital-redevelopment/