They say actions speak louder than words and for many years we’ve been talking about the future and a new Hythe and Dibden War Memorial Hospital. This is now an exciting reality as the ground works which will shape the site for years to come are progressing.
Over the past weeks the site has been a hive of activity as the foundations and services for the new building and car parking were put in place. Some of the foundation works are now about two metres below the new ground level and will not be seen when the site is completed, so now is a good time to watch the latest time lapse video shared by NHS Property Services. This new video covers the work carried out during July and August.
You can also access the calendar which gives you day to day photos of the progress dating back to 19 February when the camera was installed.
The construction programme is progressing and the installation of the steel structure in the next few weeks will be the first big visual step in showing the scale and position of the new hospital as its skeleton starts to take shape. We will continue to share pictures and videos of the new hospital development as it continues.
If anyone has any particular questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact Adam Shepheard, Principle Construction Manager for NHS Property Services, on 07779 228 689 or at adam.shepheard@property.nhs.uk, or Daniel Fisher, Senior Project Manager for Kier (based on the hospital site), on 07971 495 410 or at daniel.fisher@kier.co.uk.
Planning for a wide range of health and wellbeing services
As the new building is starting to take shape, Commissioning Managers in Hampshire, Southampton and Isle of Wight CCG have continued to work closely with the clinical health services to plan the use of the new hospital and new ways of working.
The current services in the hospital will move across into the new building. In addition, opportunities to bring more health, wellbeing and diagnostic services to the new hospital are being explored to expand the range of services available to the local community it serves. Current services include the leg ulcer clinic, physiotherapy, ENT/audiology, iTalk, pain services, orthopaedic choice, special care dentistry, podiatry, bladder and bowel and stoma care, gynaecology, urology, respiratory, midwifery services and other outpatient clinics.
Nationally there has been a big drive to increase access to diagnostics services delivered at community level. A new diagnostics suite inside the building will see X-ray services return to the hospital with a brand new X-ray machine installed, alongside ultrasound services. The mobile breast screening unit will continue to visit the hospital and plans are being worked up to bring other mobile units to the site as well, such as an MRI Scanner, CT Scanner and units providing respiratory diagnostics such as Spirometry and FE-NO testing.
Iain Smith, Head of Construction Programme Management at NHS Property Services said: “We are delighted to see the hospital take shape as a sustainable and modern healthcare facility that will benefit the local community for generations to come. NHS Property Services is proud to play a part in delivering the hospital alongside Hampshire, Southampton and Isle of Wight Clinical Commissioning Group and local partners, and we look forward to celebrating its completion in 2022.”