Media Release
Date: 7 May 2014
Forging a bright future for the Trust
The RUH has unveiled ambitious new plans for a £110m transformation over the next five years.
Central to this is the new Estate Strategy, which will see old buildings demolished, paving the way for the construction of a new Cancer Centre, pharmacy building and integrated therapies unit – enabling the Trust to deliver a first class diagnostics service and the highest quality patient-centred cancer care.
James Scott, Chief Executive, said: "The Trust is on the cusp of one of the most exciting periods of development and improvement in its history. We've had a fantastic year of delivering great quality care, as highlighted by our good Care Quality Commission report earlier this year and our commitment to improving safety was confirmed by our selection as one of twelve Trusts chosen to lead the national Sign up to Safety campaign.
"We now have an exciting five-year plan firmly in place which will help us to build upon our reputation for providing the half a million people we serve with highest quality care. Transforming the site means we can transform the services we provide our patients, and our newly-approved Estate Strategy will enable us to do just that – sweeping away poor quality buildings and providing a hospital estate that we can all be proud of. We are now poised to take the first step in what will be a very exciting journey. These plans will ensure we are in the best position to deliver excellent care now and in the future.
"In addition to the money the Trust itself has set aside for these exciting developments, we are also immensely grateful for the contributions being made by members of the public to The Forever Friends Appeal's Cancer Care Campaign that is raising £8.5m towards the new Centre. These, together with a number of large donations, have enabled us to think big and work towards creating a truly state-of-the-art facility providing a holistic approach to the treatment of cancer patients at the RUH."
Howard Jones, Director of Estates and Facilities, added: "The investment will not only cover the costs of the new Cancer Centre, it will also enable us to make a considerable investment in medical equipment, IT infrastructure and extensive re-development of the whole site. We are on track to build a new pharmacy, therapies centre, and a new records and IT centre, as well as allocating additional patient and visitor parking due to the restructuring of the site.
"The next five years will see many changes at the hospital that are possible because of the hard work of all our staff."