UK’s Royal Sussex County Hospital contract gets go-ahead

The redevelopment of the Royal Sussex County Hospital, UK, will begin after the £484 million (€667 million) contract was signed last week.

Matthew Kershaw, CEO of Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, and Julian Lee, the Trust’s chairman put pen to paper on the contract that means UK-based Laing O’Rourke is to be the lead contractor for the nine-year programme.

The project will see a redevelopment of the front half of the County Hospital site, with two new hospital buildings replacing the current facilities. The first of the new buildings is set to open in 2020, and the second in 2023. The hospital will continue to run all its clinical services on site throughout the redevelopment.

Kershaw said, “Signing this contract puts the wheels in motion for the physical building of the redevelopment. It clearly sets out where we are going over the next nine years and how it will be achieved. It has taken time and unstinting effort to bring us to this point.

“Over the coming months our patients, visitors and staff will see real changes to the hospital as we begin work in earnest on the first of the two new buildings.”

The area for the first of the new buildings will be handed over for construction in sections between January and June 2016, this will make for smoother works, claims the Trust. At the end of that period the entire south-east quarter of the hospital, with the exception of the Cancer Centre, will be under construction.